A TikTok-viral food business has issued a warning to fans after a customer reportedly camped out for 15 hours in order to get their hands on a spud.
SpudBros issued the warning after a young fan camped outside a business overnight to be first in line.
Co-founder Jacob Nelson, who currently lives in Darwen, said: "Yesterday I saw that somebody camped out 15 hours for a jacket potato.
"While we love the support, we wouldn’t recommend anybody camp out 15 hours for a jacket potato.
"We know people want to be first because we have giveaways for the first customer of the event but we might have to think about how we do this… we want you to be safe."
Jacob said the brand has a responsibility to its loyal following, which it affectionately calls the 'tram fam.'
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He said: "Me being a parent and having such a following, we have a responsibility to ensure the ‘tram fam’ are safe and that nothing happens to you.
"Please don’t be camping out until the early hours of the morning… We have other events and tours booked in and there is enough spud love to go around for everybody."
Customers shared ideas on how to keep fans safe and engaged without encouraging extreme waits.
One suggested: "I think you should do a random big giveaway and not the first customer."
Another said: "Put a random winner sticker on one of the jacket potato trays you serve in and at some point during the day the person with the winning sticker wins."
SpudBros began in 1955 as a hot potato cart on Preston’s Flag Market.
It is now run by brothers Jacob and Harley Nelson, who have grown the business to more than five million followers on TikTok.
The brand is currently expanding nationally, with plans to open 30 roadside locations over the next three years.
A recent launch in Colne will see SpudBros Express open at Silk Way Business Park on Whitewalls Drive, next to a newly approved M&S Foodhall.
The business has even caught the attention of Manchester City footballer Phil Foden.
The 26-year-old appeared in a SpudBros video outside The Trafford Centre, telling followers he had been "dying to try Preston food brand SpudBros" after seeing the company’s content online.
SpudBros continues to gain popularity across the UK, but the company has made it clear that no one should put themselves at risk just to be first in the queue.
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