Anywhere between 50 and 90 per cent of UK forecourts have run out of fuel
Fuel shortages across Britain are nearing dangerous levels as the lack of HGV drivers, combined with nationwide panic buying, have led to as much as 90 per cent of the nation’s petrol stations running out of fuel.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend, Brian Madderson – chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) – estimated that “anywhere in between 50% and 90% of their forecourts are currently dry, and those that aren’t dry are partly dry and running out soon.”
He went on to say that since it was decided to prioritise motorway service areas with delivery, “people are now flocking on to motorways wherever they have one nearby and buying fuel from the motorways”. The demand for petrol is said to have skyrocketed by 500 per cent.
As a result of the shortage and sheer demand, fuel prices are currently the highest they’ve been in over three and a half years. The average cost has risen by four pence per litre, with petrol the highest at £1.28.
Furthermore, the government are relaxing immigration rules to allow foreign workers into the UK in order to resolve the lorry driver crisis. It is thought that there are currently over 10,000 vacancies in the haulage industry.
Not too dissimilar to the message surrounding recent panic-buying of essentials like bread, milk and toilet roll during the height of the pandemic, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has urged people “to be sensible and fill up when you normally would.”
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