PARENTS of a boy with autism are facing a race against time to find Smoky Bacon Walkers crisps because he REFUSES to eat anything else.

       Connor Lewis, 14, from Enderby in Leicestershire, will only chow down on his favourite snack but a shortage has left his parents Sarah and Jason desperate.

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       Connor Lewis, 14, who has autism, has a highly restricted diet and is 'refusing to eat' without his Walkers crisps. Credit: BPM

       Shops have been suffering a mass shortage of Walkers crisps over the last few weeks after issues affecting production.

       This has been a particular problem for Connor who has a highly restricted diet, only eating familiar foods of a certain texture and flavour.

       Sarah, 45, told LeicestershireLive: "That flavour of crisps is his main food.

       "Because of his severe autism and learning difficulties his diet is really limited, but since these shortages, they're just non-existent."

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       She added that it has been extremely difficult to explain to Connor why his crisps are not available at the moment.

       According to Walkers owners, PepsiCo, production could be affected until the end of the month, but for Connor, it has already been "too long".

       Sarah said: "We're at the end of our tether.

       "My husband has been driving up and down the motorway to check service stations."

       Connor's regular medication is also being affected as his parents usually disguise it in the juice he drinks alongside a packet of Smoky Bacon crisps.

       Smoky Bacon is currently one of the unavailable lines as the most popular flavours take priority for production, including Cheese and Onion, Ready Salted and Salt and Vinegar.

       He just doesn't understand why his main food isn't there.

       Sarah Lewis

       The family has even asked Sarah's radio presenter brother to appeal for help finding the crisps.

       Sarah said: "It's having an impact on his mental health as well because he just doesn't understand why his main food isn't there."

       Sarah added: "We managed to get a box of the crisps from someone from Lancashire but apart from that we've had no luck."

       The couple are appealing to Walkers to get hold of the crisps.

       They have also been referred to a dietician for a consultation in the next month, but Sarah says it is a "long time to wait for a child who isn't eating".

       In 2019, an 18 year old went blind after eating only Quavers and Wotsits for 16 years.

       Last year, a mum-of-three said she may lose her eyesight because of a restrictive eating disorder where she can only eat crisps and chicken nuggets.

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       Connor's regular medication is also being affected as his parents usually disguise it in the juice he drinks alongside a packet of Smoky Bacon crisps Credit: BPM

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