People are being urged not to panic buy ahead of the holiday season.

Fears emerged in recent weeks as one of the UK’s biggest toy retailers warned delays at UK ports could result in shortages this Christmas.

A container logjam at ports, Covid restrictions and a shortage of HGV lorry drivers have sparked widespread concern among retailers about future stocks.

The shortage of drivers in the UK means that shipment containers are being offloaded but left stacked on the quayside waiting for collection.

The lack of drivers also means there is a delay in returning empty containers for re-use.

These problems are coming at the busiest time of the year for retailers, when most goods are imported from Asia to sell during Christmas trading.

The UK’s biggest container port facility in Felixstowe, Suffolk hit maximum capacity in recent weeks and had to turn ships away.

Last week, shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk diverted vessels away from the facility in south-east England and warned that the problem could continue until the new year.

However, the UK government has since said that the port, where most imported toys enter the UK before onward travel - had reported ’improved capacity over the past few days.’

Industry bosses here on the island are hoping to reassure customers that there is no need to panic-buy in the run up to Christmas.

The manager of The Entertainer in Douglas, Andy Gibson told Manx Radio: ’We know that there has been much put on the news about not just us but many industries have experienced the shipping delays already this year.

’But all I can say is that the shelves of The Entertainer will be filled with toys this Christmas.

’Some of the larger must-have type toys have been selling a lot faster than anticipated so in all honesty there may be certain things that may not be available come Christmas time, but that’s pretty much the same most years for certain things.’

He added: ’All [The Entertainer] stores throughout the UK are well stocked [and] we’re expecting more deliveries coming over the next few weeks.

’For us on the Isle of Man, we do have plenty of stock in at the moment so need to panic as yet, but don’t leave it too long.’

Last year, the most popular toys were L.O.L. dolls, interactive pets and Baby Yoda-themed toys. Brands which tend to make a splash year on year include LOL Surprise, Paw Patrol, Playmobil, Star Wars, Barbie and LEGO.

It is expected that they will be a big hit for 2021 as well.