A man violently sick if he eats gluten says he has been left with fewer food choices because of long-broken freezers at his local supermarket.

John Head, who has coeliac disease, relies on the allergy-friendly Free From range stocked in the frozen aisles of the Morrisons store in Dover.

But with the freezers intermittently out of action for almost three months now, the retired prison officer has accused the chain of not prioritising the medical needs of customers.

Coeliac disease is a condition in which the immune system attacks tissues when gluten is consumed. It causes damage to the gut and leads to abdominal pain and bloating, as well as other symptoms.

Mr Head said: “I am violently sick within an hour if I have anything with gluten in it. My sister is a lot worse and has to have separate cutlery.

“I consider myself quite lucky when it comes to the disease, but it is a medical condition, it’s not a fad.”

With Morrisons just a five-minute walk from his home, Mr Head describes the issue with the freezers as a “pain”.

“I can’t have 90% of the products that are on the shelves, so I do rely on these products,” he said.

“Morrisons is local to us and convenient, but not so convenient when they can’t provide the food that I need.

“There was a long period of the freezers not working, then a short period of them working, then back to not working again.”

Mr Head’s wife shared a picture of the empty freezers on Facebook more than two weeks ago, prompting others to post that they too are in a similar position to her husband.

While Mr Head continues to buy gluten-free items from the Bridge Street Morrisons, such as vegetables, he now more regularly goes to Tesco in Whitfield to do his weekly shop.

“At the end of the day, anyone with medical needs should be on their priority list,” he said,

“Ironically, the last time I asked a member of staff to check if they had any products out the back, they said they didn’t, so that concerned me that they are actually running down the Free From range.”

A Morrisons spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers and are working hard to have it resolved.

“We have ordered new freezers and expect them to be replaced shortly.”