The UK’s national shortage of lorry drivers has seen some supermarkets start to advertise jobs on the road with wages up to nearly £57,000 a year.
According to reports in Birmingham Live and The Times, hauliers have warned that there is currently a shortfall of around 100,000 lorry drivers out of a pre-pandemic total of about 600,000 – which has lead to highly-publicised scenes of empty shop shelves up and down the country.
This has been driven by a combination of both post-EU Brexit rules, and thousands of European drivers leaving during the pandemic and not returning.
“High numbers” of workers retiring is also said to be a contributing factor, with 55 being the average age of a HGV driver in the UK.
Gist – a logistics company that delivers for Tesco, M&S, Aldi, Morrisons and Ocado – is offering annual pay of up to £56,674 for LGV drivers, and the scarcity of delivery staff has also seen Waitrose up its wages to £53,780, plus a whopping £1,000 joining bonus.
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The supermarket chain says it has put up the pay for truckers by an average of £7,000 in the past 18 months.
Hauliers have warned that there is currently a shortfall of around 100,000 lorry drivers / Credit: Flickr
Tesco and Iceland has also bumped up salaries by up to 25%, with sign up bonuses of at least £1,000, and M&S also has a joining incentive of £2,000.
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James Clifford – boss of HGTVtraining.co.uk – said new recruits could make up to £60,000 a year.
A lorry driver earning £53,780 a year would be making more than the average salary for secondary school teachers (£40,880), solicitors (£43,190), and architects (£42,930) – the Road Haulage Association have said the “substantial” pay rises offered by firms in need of new drivers could force supermarket bosses to pass the costs on to customers.
The UK government introduced a seasonal worker visa scheme in December for 30,000 workers, which was primarily for the summer fruit picking season – but meat processors were excluded.
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Rod McKenzie – Managing Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the Road Haulage Association – said the shortage of drivers needs urgent government action, and firms have offered better incentives and pay deals to secure potential recruits.
Some supermarkets have started to advertise jobs on the road with wages up to nearly £57,000 a year / Credit: Pixabay
“Certainly drivers’ pay is increasing, often by quite substantial amounts,” he said.
“This in turn is a cost that will need to be passed on, and given the tight profit margins of most haulage operators, that means their rates to customers will have to go up.
“In turn, this may mean more of us paying higher prices for goods, services and shopping – including food prices – going forward.”
Featured Image – pxhere
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Manchester Storm’s ‘own and loan’ scheme returns for 2026/27
Danny Jones
Manchester Storm have relaunched their much-loved ‘own and loan’ programme once again ahead of the 2026/27 season.
Having gone from a cult favourite option for die-hards to an increasingly popular choice among their growing number of supporters, it’s a great way for fans to get their hands on what could go on to be priceless collectables.
Set up over a decade and a half ago, the initiative has gone on to be replicated by multiple clubs in the Elite Ice Hockey League, across the country, and indeed beyond.
For anyone unclear on what exactly this scheme means for them, here’s all you need to know.
The own and loan sponsorship is essentially an opportunity not only to support the club and your favourite player, but to essentially reserve a valuable piece of match-worn memorabilia.
Put simply, fans can buy a squad member’s jersey and then loan it back to them for the season.
The shirt – be it home, away, created for cup tournaments or a special limited-edition sweater (of which MCR Storm have designed many over the years) – will then be worn throughout the course of the campaign before being given back to the owner, i.e. you.
Not just simply buying the shirt, but helping back the team’s talent, it’s one of the most direct ways people can contribute to the club.
The Greater Manchester side pioneered the push for this initiative here in the UK in the early 2010s, and with the local side now set to return to the AO Arena, where their journey began way back in 1995, you can expect plenty to mark the comeback with a special sponsored jersey.
Anyone who purchases an away strip will have their name featured throughout home games for the duration of the season – not a bad gift or way to secure a potential future collectors’ item.
You can see every player available to sponsor and find out all the information you need right HERE.
For regular matchgoers at the ‘Storm Shelter’, we’re sure it’ll be bittersweet to say goodbye to Planet Ice Altrincham, but just how excited are you about heading home to the AO Arena later this year?
Featured Images — Manchester Storm (publicity picture)/The Manc Group
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League One set for an all-Greater Manchester playoff final as Bolton book trip to Wembley
Danny Jones
It’s official: we’re all set for a fully Greater Manchester League One playoff final as Bolton Wanderers are the latest to secure a return to Wembley against Stockport County.
The resurgent old Lancashire club clinched their spot in the knockout conclusion of the third division with a single strike in the second leg of the semis, and it wasn’t a bad finish, either.
Beating Bradford City 2-0 on aggregate, Bolton will now play familiar regional rivals Stockport, with Wanderers set to clash with County in a decisive derby once again.
Bolton‘s instinctive volley from Chelsea youth product and former Hull City man, Xavier Simons, resulted in some very satisfying limbs at Valley Parade.
The home fans did have plenty to cheer on the night, with efforts from Metcalfe, Power and Wright all either hitting the woodwork or being deflected just past it.
They thought they were level in the tie at one point after Kayden Jackson put the ball in the back of the net, but it was ultimately ruled out.
Agonising stuff for the Bradford supporters to burst into bedlam before the flag was raised for offside.
Many supporters will argue that the key moment came somewhat against the run of play, but The Trotters won’t care one bit as they book another trip down to the capital.
You can watch the rest of the highlights, including those scenes in the away end, down below.
Speaking even before the game, head coach Steven Schumacher told Sky Sports: “It’s a club we believe is bigger than this division, but this division is not easy to get out of.
“The expectation and the demand to get to the Championship is there, and once you’re in the building and you feel the mood when you win games, when you lose games, you can sense that this is a club that is desperate to get out and get to the next level.
“When you look at the size of both Bolton and Bradford and how well they are supported, both clubs are probably too big to be in League One. But that’s where both clubs find themselves, and one of us has got to find our way out of it if we can.”
You’d dare say he can practically smell promotion via the playoffs now; the local side has come quite a way since the lows of administration in 2019 and the bottom tier of the EFL – not without some heartbreaks in previous playoff finals – but could he be the one to get them back where they belong?
In case you missed the action from the other game, you can see more HERE, and to hear Schumacher’s thoughts after the decisive result, look no further…
The Manc -
31st August 2021 
