Waitrose has apologised to customers after IT issues left shelves bare of some fresh products for days and deliveries disrupted.

Branches across the country saw shelves completely bare of bakery, fruit and other fresh items, with essentials not being delivered due to a slow-running system update.

The upmarket grocer offered vouchers to compensate some customers, with receipts reading: “We’re sorry if we did not have everything you were looking for today.”

Customers in Maidenhead, Cheltenham, Cambridge and the Channel Islands all reported not being able to get the products they wanted ahead over the bank holiday weekend and as late as Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday, Waitrose said the root cause of the system update delay had been fixed and the availability of fresh products was improving, with all branches receiving regular deliveries.

A spokesman said: “We are really sorry that some branches have had low stock.

“We’ve fixed the cause of the issue, with extra deliveries already out with stores.

“We’re grateful for the hard work of our teams and the understanding of our customers.”

The shortage saw some customers use Twitter to complain.

One wrote: “Waitrose in Cheltenham has no fruit or veg – they’ve filled their baskets with wine. Heading to Tesco instead, as you can’t grill Chardonnay.”