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Motorists are increasingly angry and frustrated as unprecedented fuel queues, some stretching up to two miles, persisted for another day across the United Kingdom – as panic buyers descend on petrol stations.
A video filmed by a pedestrian in Bounds Green, north London, showed fed up motorists beeping their horns in frustration as they waited to fill up.
It comes as road users were branded selfish for filling up jerry cans of fuel loaded into their car boots while almost 400 petrol stations have introduced a £30 limit to cope with ‘unprecedented’ demand.
The crisis has prompted ministers to consider drafting in 5,000 drivers from outside Britain to help despite the government previously insisting it would rely on training domestic drivers.
Temporary visas could be offered to European drivers allowing them to work in the UK, in a desperate attempt to plug the estimated 100,000 shortfall of HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) drivers.
The footage in Bounds Green was filmed by Carla Francome who described the beeping by motorists as ‘insane’.
In another post, she added: ‘One o’clock and the whole of Bounds Green Road is still at a complete standstill because cars are queuing for hundreds of yards in both directions for the petrol garage.
‘Anyone NOT queuing simply can’t get past, and are stuck in the jam. #fuelcrisis #fuelshortage #petrolshortage’
Video also shared on Twitter showed vehicles bumper to bumper waiting for petrol at a Shell garage in Islington, north London.
The footage was shared on Twitter by Clive Smith who wrote: ‘Don’t panic buy petrol you say…current queue in Islington, stretches 100m.’
BP announced plans to ration fuel deliveries and has shut some of its petrol stations due to a lack of HGV drivers.
The oil giant is struggling to refill pumps to meet demand and is considering prioritising deliveries to key locations.
BP’s head of UK retail, Hanna Hofer, described the situation as ‘bad, very bad’ at a meeting organised by the Cabinet Office last week.
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Meanwhile Esso also said a small number of the 200 petrol stations it runs alongside Tesco would also be affected by the lorry driver crisis.
The problem is not thought to be a lack of fuel, but insufficient HGV drivers to transport gas to petrol stations.
Ministers have insisted there are ‘ample’ supplies, blaming the issue on a temporary COVID-related shortage of drivers needed to move supplies around the country’.
An expert in logistics and supply chain strategy believes the long queues for petrol should tail off fairly quickly.
Professor Richard Wilding told Sky News: ‘I think we’ll see a sense of normality at the pumps quite briskly, to be quite honest.
‘It won’t be long because all those people who are panic buying, they’re going to have full tanks and they’re not going to be going out for fuel probably for a month or so.’
The government has just 10 days to save Christmas or face chaos during the festive period, a trade group which represents Britain’s retail industry has warned.
Andrew Opie, director of food & sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: ‘HGV drivers are the glue which hold our supply chains together.
‘Without them, we are unable to move goods from farms to warehouses to shops.
‘Unless new drivers are found in the next ten days, it is inevitable that we will see significant disruption in the run up to Christmas.’
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps signalled he was prepared to draft in the Army, as it was suggested 2,000 personnel who are qualified HGV drivers had been put on ‘standby’ to distribute food and essentials, including medicine.
