Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has instructed factory staff to stay at home until at least Tuesday as the company continues to grapple with the fallout from a cyber attack.

The attack at the weekend forced the company to take vital IT systems offline, which has affected car sales and production.

Production remains halted at car factories in Halewood on Merseyside and Solihull in the West Midlands, as well as at its engine manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton.

The situation remains under review and output could remain suspended for longer.

Car sales have also been heavily disrupted, although the BBC understands some transactions have been able to take place.

The company, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, shut down its systems on Sunday in order to limit potential damage from the cyber attack.

It is now working to restore them in a controlled manner, but this is understood to be a highly complex process. It is also introducing work-arounds for systems that remain offline.

The attack occurred at what is traditionally a popular time for consumers to take delivery of a new vehicle. The latest batch of new registration plates became available on 1 September.

The disruption extends well beyond JLR’s own production lines, with its network of parts suppliers also forced to restrict their operations. Some have complained of a lack of transparency from the company.

On Wednesday a hacker group which was also responsible for a highly damaging attack on Marks and Spencer earlier in the year said it had infiltrated JLR’s systems.

The group of young English-speaking hackers – who are thought to be teens calling themselves “Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters” – told the BBC how they allegedly accessed the car maker but have not revealed if they successfully stole private data from JLR or installed malicious software onto the company’s network.

The group posted two images, which showed apparent internal instructions for troubleshooting a car charging issue and internal computer logs.

A security expert said those screenshots suggested the group had access to information they should not have.

JLR says it is investigating the hack, but there is no evidence at this stage any customer data has been stolen.

In 2023, as part of an effort to “accelerate digital transformation across its business”, JLR signed a five-year, £800m deal with corporate stablemate Tata Consultancy Services to provide cybersecurity and a range of other IT services.

The halt in production is a fresh blow to the firm which recently revealed a slump in profits attributed to an increase in costs caused by US tariffs.

Charities and community groups have seen a rise in demand for second-hand school uniform.

Barnardo’s in Frome has put out an appeal for donated uniform, due to the high demand they are seeing, and parents in Somerset have set up Facebook groups to help.

The Community Hub in Chard has started a pre-loved school uniform shop which operates on the basis of paying what you can afford to help parents who may not be able to afford it.

Tessa Goodridge-Reynolds, from the Chard Community Hub, said: “It’s pay-as-you-can so there’s no pressure to donate at all. We just want to remove that pressure. It’s a really expensive time for parents.”

Ms Goodridge-Reynolds helped to set up the uniform shop in 2022, led by the need from the community.

“They found it difficult to get hold of uniform cheaply,” she said.

“Part of it is sustainability, too. Isn’t it great if we can swap and share and get as much use out of clothes as possible?

“Today, more than 1,300 items have gone out to families. It’s a busy time of year, everyone getting ready for school this week.”

Nikki Allen, a mum from Somerset, set up the South Somerset School Uniform Exchange group on Facebook.

“It was a few years ago when my son was still in school. I was looking for bits of uniform that I didn’t really want to buy new,” Ms Allen said.

“There’s posts every day, whether it’s school uniform or coats. People are really pleased to get something for less money because of course budgets are tight still.”

Barnardo’s in Frome said they have also seen a surge in demand for uniform.

They have been recycling uniform for the last four years but demand is now is at its highest ever, with parents queuing up to get uniform and PE kits for their children.

Hannah Smith, the store manager, said: “There’s been a lot more demand, I’ve had messages, phone calls asking for uniform.

“It’s definitely the cost of living, people just can’t afford it new anymore and they’re struggling.

“Just for a general Frome college uniform you’re looking at £100, just for one set.”