Amidst public hysteria, it is now estimated that more than two thirds of KFC outlets are open as of Wednesday afternoon, as the DHL cluck up abates.

Nearly 650 of the 900 KFC restaurants around the UK are now open for business, as the DHL deliveries ramp up. Only 450 or so were open on Tuesday.

The delivery problems emerged when the logistics operations were physically switched from the old firm Bidvest to DHL and Quick Service Logistics (QSL)..

KFC took to Twitter yesterday to provide customers with an update saying: “We changed our delivery partner last week – Valentine’s Day actually. But Cupid’s arrow wasn’t firing for us, and we’ve run into some complicated distribution problems.”

A statement from DHL on Tuesday said: “The reasons for this unforeseen interruption of this complex service are being worked on with a goal to return to normal service levels as soon as possible. With the help of our partner QSL, we are committed to step by step improvements to allow KFC to re-open its stores over the coming days.”

There has been quite some hysteria over the cluck up, with some people even calling the police over the matter. One social media post reported, “Disaster. Took the Grandkids out to dinner at KFC only to see that it’s shut down. Some chicken shortage. Took them to McDonald’s but it’s not the same. Crying in the bathroom. Can’t show weakness in front of them. #KFCCrisis”

The police had to step in after several 999 calls were made by desperate customers who missed their fried chicken. Tower Hamlets Met Police tweeted, “Please do not contact us about the #KFCCrisis – it is not a police matter if your favourite eatery is not serving the menu that you desire.”