A food bank boss has told of the "abuse" volunteers are subject to amid ongoing supply shortages.

Neil Charlick, chief executive of Gillingham Street Angels, has said this is the first time the charity has every faced problems getting food.

Speaking to kmfm, he said: "There is a lot of stuff happening at the moment but there seems to be constant problems with food coming through.

"The figures have gone through the roof but there is only so much food we can get and we do not know what we are going to get. We are finding it frustrating that we cannot get the food."

Mr Charlick explained most of the donations come from big brand supermarkets such as Morrisons as well as individual donations from the public but these are slowing.

But these are slowing and he said a lot of stores are now putting supplies they used to donate to the charity into their reduced sections and selling it on – limiting the amount that is then handed over.

Nationally, supermarkets have also been struggling with supplies of some fruit and vegetables due to bad weather in parts of southern Europe and Northern Africa.

Some have even had to introduce limits on a number of fresh food items as retailers struggle to stock some produce in sufficient numbers.

The general public also cannot afford to buy things to give to the food banks meaning their supplies are dwindling, explained Mr Charlick.

"I walk past the food donation bins in the shops where they used to be full of things, now people cannot afford to do it," he added.

Around 15,500 people use the food bank in Skinner Street, Gillingham, every month and it aims to provide healthy food such as fruit and vegetables, meat, vegan and gluten-free options.

But Mr Charlick has now said his staff are facing "abuse" from people when they cannot get the food they want due to supply shortages and high demand.

"We are a voluntary organisation doing it off our backs, we are not funded by anything. We do not have to do it," he explained.

"For people to be abusive that we are not getting enough meat or we are not getting enough food for them is outrageous.

"The ladies that run the food bank are all volunteers, they go there at four o'clock in the morning to start collecting food and to be abused is horrendous.

"It is very frustrating, they are at the front end. It is a difficult job and they deal with difficult people everyday, for them to be abused as well is just not nice."

He has even received a two-star review which said "there was nothing worth eating" and said it was a "waste of time" to queue at the food bank.

Mr Charlick added: "We try to stick to the way we wanted to work and not be judgmental.

"People are struggling and if you have always been able to look after your family and then you have to use a food bank, it is difficult for people to come along.

"It is a free service. We are trying to do our best to look after the community to then be abused and people being nasty to others who want to give their time, it is just not fair."

Gillingham Street Angels accepts donations directly to its food bank or to its head office in Jenkins' Dale, Chatham.