Poor families miss out on budget ranges at big chains’ smaller shops, says Which?

Own-label items available less than 1% of the time at Sainsbury's Local, Tesco Express and Morrisons Daily, finds consumer group

Low-income families are missing out on the chance to pick up supermarkets' lowest-priced essentials as fewer than 1% of the leading chains' smaller stores stock them, according to a study.

The consumer group Which? dispatched mystery shoppers to hunt for a list of about 30 items under the cut-price own-label ranges in Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons stores, including apples, beef mince, tinned tomatoes, rice and instant coffee.