KFC has tried to laugh off its chicken shortage with a humorous apology to customers, The delivery crisis, which affected its stores in Swindon left outlets across Britain short of meat.

An advert posted in newspapers included an image of a branded bucket with the abbreviation FCK and the words “we’re sorry”. It read: “A chicken restaurant without any chicken. Huge apologies to our customers, especially those who travelled out of their way to find we were closed.

'And endless thanks to our KFC team members and our franchise partners for working tirelessly to improve the situation.

'It's been a hell of a week, but we're making progress, and every day more and more fresh chicken is being delivered to our restaurants. Thank you for bearing with us.'

The fast food chain’s four Swindon restaurants have reopened after the crisis, which had forced it to close more than 500 branches across the country.