The food-to-go specialist said earlier this week that it wanted to re-open 20 shops in the Newcastle area on a trial basis from next Monday, just over a month after it shuttered its entire 2,050-store network.

Greggs said the test would allow it to see if it could operate shops with social distancing measures in place.

But the business has now rowed back on those plans following “significant interest” in the trial. Instead, it will operate the pilot behind closed doors, similar to the tests carried out by food-to-go rival McDonald’s.