IT’S PANIC AT THE PUMPS

Huge jams at forecourts despite minister’s pleas for calm

MOTORISTS panicbuying fuel brought much of Britain to a standstill yesterday.

Pleas from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps for drivers to ‘carry on as normal’ were ignored, leading to long jams and angry scenes at filling stations.

Last night the Government was poised to cave in to demands to change visa rules to allow in 5,000 foreign lorry drivers and stop the economy grinding to a halt.

Driver shortages are hitting every part of the economy, creating gaps on supermarket shelves, leaving pubs and restaurants short of key produce and jeopardising the supply of key chemicals to water firms. As the crisis deepened:

■ Police were called to forecourts to manage queues, head off confrontations and keep traffic moving;

■ Three cars were involved in a crash when tempers flared at a petrol station in Gosport, Hampshire;

■ Motorists in queues complained about greedy customers filling their tanks and then jerry cans;

■ Small petrol stations raised prices to cash in on the panic and experts warned of further increases;

■ A private equity-backed haulage

firm specialising in chilled deliveries to Asda and Sainsbury’s went bust, adding to concerns about gaps on shelves;

■ The average price of a pint of beer was set to pass £4 as inflation soared;

■ Care homes warned they could be forced to close amid spiralling gas bills.

Parents on the school run could not get to the pumps, while the elderly and traders were among the many thousands of motorists caught up in the frenzy.

The EG Group, which operates 389 petrol stations, yesterday imposed a £30 limit on purchases of fuel.

A spokesman for the retailer said the decision was ‘to ensure all our customers have a fair chance to refuel and to enable our sites to carry on running smoothly’. The problems were triggered when BP and Esso admitted on Thursday that a lack of tanker drivers was hitting deliveries. The news led to a race to the petrol pumps with the result that hundreds ran out of some fuel types and dozens closed altogether.

BP said: ‘We are experiencing some fuel supply issues at some of our retail sites in the UK and unfortunately have therefore seen some sites temporarily close due to a lack of both unleaded and diesel grades.

‘We are prioritising deliveries to sites with largest demand and seeking to minimise the duration of stock outs.’

Many forecourts in London and other cities were closed or running low on unleaded and diesel. The capital’s South Circular road was at a standstill at one point.

The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association asked that its members go on an emergency register, giving them priority access to fuel.

Jane Smithson, 62, a retired carer who was stocking up on fuel in Eltham, south-east London, said: ‘I’m gobsmacked, the world’s gone mad, I just cannot believe it.’

Trafford councillor Mike Freeman described Manchester as ‘bedlam’. He said: ‘I witnessed two motorists not just satisfied with filling up their cars but filling large jerry cans as well – people have clearly been spooked.’

Early yesterday, Mr Shapps urged motorists to ‘carry on as normal’ and insisted there was no danger of fuel pumps running dry. Britain is said to be short of more than 90,000 drivers, which is partly the result of coronavirus, which cancelled the training and the testing of tens of thousands of workers.

Other factors include the long-standing issue of poor recruitment linked to poor pay and conditions, as well as Brexit, which saw thousands of EU drivers go home.

The Government has set up a taskforce run by the former Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay to address supply chain issues.

Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, blamed the Department for Transport for not tackling the driver shortage. He added: ‘Pump prices will rise in direct relation to the “don’t panic” scaremongering messages from this clueless Government.’

A Downing Street spokesman said last night: ‘We have ample fuel stocks in this country and the public should be reassured there are no shortages.’

‘I can’t believe it – the world’s gone mad’

FEW things are more certain to make the public panic than when under-pressure ministers plead with them not to, and so it proved yesterday.

Roads ground to a standstill as anxious motorists flocked to fill up vehicles amid groundless fears of a petrol shortage – an unedifying throwback to the early days of lockdown when inconsiderate stockpilers hoarded toilet paper.

Of course, the difficulty is not a lack of fuel, but a chronic shortfall of HGV drivers to transport it to forecourts. The same problem is disrupting food supplies.

To tackle the crisis, Boris Johnson must offer short-term visas to European hauliers to keep the economy moving.

Contrary to arch-Remainers’ propaganda, Brexit didn’t mean zero immigration. It meant controlling our borders and welcoming those whose skills we needed. This is a perfect example.

But the industry must be clear this is a pragmatic solution, not a short cut to cheap foreign labour. Fixing this issue long-term means attracting British drivers via better pay, working conditions and opportunities.

Predictably, the Prime Minister’s critics will sneer at his U-turn. But the public care only that he keeps the fuel taps turned on.