Tesco, Ledbury's biggest grocer, has been rocked by falling sales across the UK, as well as its retail outlets in Turkey, Thailand, China, Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries.

The fall in sales has been blamed on recent Tesco scandals that include the horse meat deception, the Mediterranean sperm whale death, illegal trash fish capture methods and Bangladeshi clothes factory safety deficiencies.

Tesco in Hungary has bucked this downward trend, but horse meat there is traditionally and openly sold in sausages at supermarkets and butchers.

It has been reported that Tesco shareholders will have to be'patient' [to reap in more profits from sales].

Tesco sales tumble on horsemeat scandal