Three women have been filmed in a remarkable fist fight over toilet paper at a Woolworths supermarket.
The bizarre brawl is understood to have taken place in Chullora, 15km west of Sydney’s CBD, as Australia’s coronavirus panic sets in.
Hysterical screaming broke out as the trio battled in the aisles, with the incident seemingly stemming from a mother and daughter stockpiling toilet paper.
It comes as tens of thousands of Australians are forced into isolation over coronavirus fears, prompting worried families to panic buy food and essentials.
After spending hours queuing for the store to open at 7am on Saturday, the women poured in – with the mum and daughter piling their trolley high with toilet paper.
The fight began when a third woman tried to take one of the precious packets from the trolley, sparking mayhem.
The woman were filmed brawling in a Woolworths supermarket in Sydney as they tried to buy toilet paper (pictured)
Bankstown Police said they are trying to identify two of the women, having already spoken to a 49-year-old woman about the incident.
Acting Inspector Andrew New of Bankstown Police appealed for the women to come forward, and urged the community to stay calm.
‘There’s no need for it. It’s not the Thunderdome, it’s not Mad Max’, he told reporters on Saturday afternoon.
‘Violence will not be tolerated, and anyone involved in this behaviour may be committing an offence and find themselves in court.’
After the fist fight was broken up by a member of staff, the camera panned to show the women’s trolley full to the brim with toilet paper.
The women exchanged stern words and fought over the toilet paper (pictured) in a Woolworths in Australia, as the woman on the right begged for just one packet
One of the women was seen guarding her trolley full of toilet paper (pictured) during the fight in western Sydney
‘Are you f*****g joking?’, the other woman asked.
‘I didn’t smack her, she hit me,’ she continued, pointing at the woman’s daughter.
‘I didn’t touch you, I took the packet, and you came and hit me.
‘I just want one pack,’ she said, pointing at the trolley – which was full of toilet paper.
The mother then said ‘get away from my daughter’, as other shoppers implored them to stop fighting.
I just want one pack’, the women then said, as she pointed towards the mother and daughter’s trolley full to the brim with toilet paper.
The mother then refused to give the distressed woman even one packet, saying ‘no, not one pack’.
Shelves are bare across multiple Australian supermarkets (pictured, left) as worried families stockpile toilet roll (right)
On Wednesday, Woolworths became the first store in Australia to ration toilet paper thanks to the ongoing crisis.
Toilet roll in particular is racing off shelves, with the country’s biggest manufacturers, Kimberly-Clark, speeding up its 24-hour production line.
It hopes the round-the-clock production will help to slow the panic, as Australian families stock up fearing a total supermarket shutdown.
This is despite toilet paper being produced on mass in Australia, and no supermarkets reporting a shortage.
Staff called the police and rushed to separate the women, before trying to confiscate the trolley load of toilet paper – but the older woman refused to let go.
Pleading for calm, one exhausted staff member tries to reason with the daughter, saying: ‘Look what you’re doing. You’re fighting over tissues.’
The toilet rolls aisles at the Macquarie Centre in Macquarie Park were completely empty on Tuesday (pictured)
Footage from another Coles store in Roselands (pictured) showed shoppers rushing to the toilet paper section and buying it it all up within minutes
Woolworths said the four-pack limit would protect stock levels in the face of ‘higher than usual demand’.
‘Woolworths has today moved to apply a quantity limit on toilet paper packs to ensure more customers have access to these products,’ the company said in a statement.
‘The purchase limit of four packs per customer transaction applies in-store and online.’
Coles and Aldi have now also imposed limits.
Last week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison admitted there was ‘every indication’ the world would imminently enter ‘the pandemic phase of the virus’.
On Tuesday, he made a rare plea to the bosses of Woolworths and Coles as communities worry about running out of pantry staples.
Empty shelves in an Australian supermarket after panic buying due to the coronavirus (pictured) on Thursday
Shoppers around the country have left supermarket shelves bare following coronavirus panic buying (pictured, in Sydney)
The supermarket giants admitted they had begun stockpiling toilet paper, tissues and Panadol, as well as long-life food produce.
Production has been disrupted in China, the epicentre of the virus, and one of the world’s primary suppliers of the household essential.
Tim Woods, the managing director of market analyst Industry Edge, told Perth Now Australia imported 40 per cent of its toilet paper from China but the rest was manufactured locally.
“There might be a one-off hit to what’s on the shelves, but is that going to continue today, tomorrow and so on? I doubt it,’ he said.
‘People will go and buy extra packs and then they’ll go and look in their cupboards and go why have I got 90 rolls?’
A man has been caught selling packets of toilet paper for $2,000 as supermarket shelves are left bare amid coronavirus fears (pictured)
Some people are so desperate to get their hands on toilet paper they have begun queuing up outside of supermarkets hours before they open.
Images showed people lining up outside of a Coles in Wollongong, on the NSW south coast, at 6am.
A Costco in Melbourne had people queued in a line down the street hoping to get their hands on the much-sought after product.
Stores have had to introduce a four-pack ban so more customers have access to toilet paper.
Customers queue up outside Costco in Melbourne (pictured, left) to ensure they get toilet paper. It was a similar situation outside Coles in Woolongong (right)
A spokesperson for Woolworths said: ‘We can confirm an incident involving customers at our Chullora store in Sydney earlier today.
‘We will not tolerate violence of any kind from our customers in our stores and we are working with Police who are investigating the matter.’
Bankstown Police confirmed they attended the incident, and an investigation is underway.
A spokesman said: ‘Just after 7am (Saturday 7 March 2020), police were called to a Chullora supermarket following reports of an altercation in an aisle over toilet paper.
‘Staff intervened, separating the women and police were notified.
‘Officers from Bankstown Police Station attended and spoke to a 49-year-old woman, who had reportedly been assaulted. She was uninjured.
‘No arrests have been made and as inquiries continue, police are appealing for public assistance to identify the other women involved.’
The toilet paper aisle was completely empty at Coles in Gladesville on Tuesday afternoon amid coronavirus panic buying (pictured)