McDonald's has confirmed it has run out of milkshakes and some bottled drinks at restaurants in Scotland.

It has been forced to pull the items from its menu due to supply chain issues, it said.

The fast-food chain said it was facing supply chain issues affecting the availability of some products at its 1,300 outlets across the UK.

McDonald's did not specify the reason, but there have been widespread reports of supply chain disruptions causing food and drink shortages due to a lack of HGV lorry drivers hitting England, Scotland, and Wales.

McDonald's said that bottled drinks and milkshakes would temporarily be unavailable at all of its stores across the country.

"Like most retailers, we are currently experiencing some supply chain issues, impacting the availability of a small number of products," the company said.

"Bottled drinks and milkshakes are temporarily unavailable in restaurants across England, Scotland and Wales."

"We apologise for any inconvenience, and thank our customers for their continued patience. We are working hard to return these items to the menu as soon as possible."

Last week the Nando's restaurant chain was forced to temporarily close around 50 restaurants after suffering supply issues with its chicken.

The group, which operates some 400 sites around the country, also said it would lend some of its staff to its suppliers to help "get things moving" again after its business was rocked by supply chain issues.

Fast food giant KFC said it was also having similar issues, warning that some items would not be available and packaging "may look a bit different to normal".

1980s McDonald's milkshake ad

Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, blamed worker shortages following Brexit for the issues the industry is currently facing.

Lobby groups for the retail and transport industries have written to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng with a stark warning about Britain’s lorry driver shortage and the knock on effect to supply chains.

They want a review of plans not to grant temporary work visas to drivers from the EU.

Earlier this month, a survey by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) estimated there was a shortage of more than 100,000 drivers in the UK, out of a pre-pandemic total of about 600,000.

Analysis of the latest ONS Labour Force Survey for the second quarter suggests that 14,000 EU lorry drivers left jobs in the UK in the year to June 2020, but only 600 had returned by July 2021.

Logistics UK, which represents freight firms, and the British Retail Consortium, said a shortfall of some 90,000 HGV drivers was the root of the problem.

The group said the shortage was “placing increasingly unsustainable pressure on retailers and their supply chains.”

They added: “While there was a shortage of HGV drivers prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, these two events have exacerbated the situation.

“The pandemic halted driving training and testing for over 12 months, while an estimated 25,000 EU drivers returned home during the pandemic and following the end of the transition period.”

A government spokesperson said last week it was bringing in a package of measures to help tackle the HGV driver shortage, including plans to streamline the process for new drivers to gain their HGV licence and to increase the number of tests that can be conducted.

It has also temporarily relaxed drivers' hours rules to allow HGV drivers to make slightly longer journeys.