Tesco is adding hundreds of disabled people to its shopping priority list, following legal action by shoppers with disabilities unable to book delivery slots.

Some 350 people have sent claims to major UK supermarkets for breaching the Equality Act 2010, according to firm Fry Law, which is representing the individuals.

Many of them are taking action against two or three supermarkets each, claiming that reasonable adjustments have not been made to enable those with disabilities to shop during the coronavirus crisis.

Specialist disability discrimination lawyer Chris Fry said a letter before action was sent to Tesco on Wednesday on behalf of Joanne Baskett, who has multiple health problems and is unable to leave her home.

He said Tesco have agreed to put Ms Baskett and all other Fry Law clients on their priority list, which allows supermarkets to target online deliveries at those most in need.

The supermarket is now also encouraging any customers facing similar issues with booking an online delivery slot to get in contact.

"If our 350 clients have changed Tesco's policy nationally, for the benefit of potentially several million, then what they have done is extremely important," Mr Fry told the PA news agency.

"And hopefully will set a precedent that will be followed by other supermarkets.

"We were desperate to ensure that the situation was resolved for people who are still struggling now of course, but also with an eye on what is going to happen in the future and preventing this happening again."

While there are around 14 million disabled people in the UK, only 1.5 million individuals qualify for the Government's Extremely Clinically Vulnerable list, Mr Fry said.

Some of the firm's clients - such as Ms Baskett - are on the Government list but are still struggling to get food deliveries.

Meanwhile, others are not grouped with those most at risk from Covid-19 but believe their access requirements should be taken into consideration while shopping - such as when queuing.

Disability equality charity Scope said getting food and essentials was one of the main issues faced by disabled people during the lockdown.

Ali Kerry, head of communications, said: "Despite efforts to address the problem, many disabled people who need deliveries have been forgotten.

"What we urgently need now is for the Government and supermarkets to develop a consistent and coordinated approach, to make sure all disabled people can safely get the food and essentials they need."

Scope has previously warned that shoppers with disabilities are facing a "triple whammy" of higher infection risk, inaccessible measures such as long queues, and negative attitudes from other shoppers and staff.

A Tesco spokesman said: "While we can't comment on individual customers, we are continuing to do everything we can to increase our online capacity and support our most vulnerable customers.

"We are prioritising access to slots for customers who are on the Government list of clinically vulnerable people without a support network, and above and beyond that we have tried to support as many customers as possible who have needed our help, with more than 530,000 vulnerable customers now on our priority list.

"We encourage any customers facing similar issues to contact us directly."