The British Soft Drinks Association has said manufacturers have "only a few days" of carbon dioxide left in reserve to produce beverages and can't import supplies from the European Union due to Brexit.

Northern Ireland bottlers are getting their carbon dioxide from EU countries while Britain remains paralysed by the closure of huge fertiliser factories.

With inflation set to rise, alongside the cost of shopping and transport, the economic fallout will squeeze Britons’ budgets.

Pig farmers in Northumberland will be among those forced to “slaughter their own animals” to dispose of them if the situation facing the industry does not change, the chairman of the National Pig Association has warned.

Continent’s press liken situation to 1970s Winter of Discontent and ‘boycotted Cuba’.

The British Soft Drinks Association said manufacturers have “only a few days” of carbon dioxide left in reserve to produce beverages and can’t import supplies from the European Union due to Brexit.