KFC forced to close restaurants after running out of chicken

Branches in Bristol, Berkshire, Cheshire, Devon, Newcastle, Suffolk and Surrey all affected

KFC says it is because of delivery 'hiccups' (Getty)

KFC was forced into closing many of its restaurants in the UK after it ran out of chicken.

Branches in Bristol, Berkshire, Cheshire, Devon, Newcastle, Suffolk and Surrey were all affected by an issue with the chain's new delivery partner.

Signs were placed on the doors of KFC outlets around the country saying the restaurants were closed due to a “a few hiccups with the delivery today”.

Hundreds of people posted messages of outrage on Twitter, after discovering that Kentucky Fried Chicken had run out of Kentucky fried chicken.

Some of those who'd visited the affected stores drove to nearby KFC restaurants only to find that same sign had been placed there too.

One customer jokingly described the situation as the "end of the world".

Summer Thomas said: “Ohhhh KFC what the cluck do you think your playing at closing near enough every branch in Bristol because you ran out of chicken! It’s basically the end of the world.”

A KFC spokesperson said: “We’ve brought a new delivery partner on board, but they’ve had a couple of teething problems – getting fresh chicken out to 900 restaurants is pretty complex.

“We won’t compromise on quality, so several of our restaurants in the UK are either closed, have a reduced menu, or shortened hours over the weekend.

“We want to thank our incredible restaurant teams, who are working flat out all hours to get us back up and running again,” the spokesperson added.