KFC has closed more than half of its 900 UK outlets after delivery problems meant they ran out of chicken.

Last week, the fried chicken chain switched its delivery contract to DHL, which blamed "operational issues" for the supply disruption.

It was unclear when the delivery problems would be rectified, a KFC spokesperson said.

Workers are being encouraged to take holiday but would not be forced to do so, he added.

It said that in the restaurants owned by the chain, staff on short-term contracts would be paid the average hours worked per day over the past 12 weeks, while those on salaries would be paid as normal.

However, 80% of KFC outlets are run on a franchise basis.