Drivers queue for petrol in West Berkshire as fuel crisis continues

DRIVERS queued at petrol stations across West Berkshire this week as the country continued to suffer a fuel crisis.

A shortage of lorry drivers and consumers rushing to forecourts fearing petrol will run out has led to a shortage of fuel at the nation’s petrol stations – although there is no shortage of fuel overall.

At Sainsbury’s petrol station in Newbury this morning (Tuesday), motorists queued from the first set of traffic lights on Kings Road leading to the superstore, with some saying they had visited two or three other stations beforehand before resorting to Sainsbury’s.

Taxi driver Constantine queued for around 15 minutes before finally reaching the forecourt, and said the waiting was affecting his business.

He said: “As a taxi driver, at the moment it’s not good for us because we have to focus on getting the tank full rather than focusing on customers.

“We need a full tank because we’re driving 250 to 300 miles per day and you never know where this job is going to take you.”

One West Berkshire resident had given his friend a lift to the petrol station after his car had broken down due to running out of petrol.

He jumped out to fill up a jerry can.

The friend, who didn’t want to be named, said: “It’s completely ridiculous, just stupidity.

“We’re a first world country, how can we run out of fuel? I've never heard something so ridiculous in my life.”

As a result of the increased buying, the price of fuel has shot up to an eight-year high – an average of 136.59p for unleaded and 138.48p for diesel – while army personnel could be drafted in to drive tankers.

Questions are now being asked over whether key workers, such as NHS staff, should be given priority access to the pumps.

In a Newbury Today poll, 70 per cent of readers said key workers should be given priority, 24 per cent said no and six per cent said they didn’t know.

The emergency services covering West Berkshire said operations were continuing as normal.

A spokesperson for the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We can confirm that we have no short term concerns as we maintain sufficient fuel stocks for our fleet.

“We work with our partners in the Local Resilience Forum to monitor the situation across the Thames Valley, as part of our normal resilience arrangements.

“Residents are advised that storing fuel in a home environment will bring an associated increase in risk of fires and dangerous conditions.

“Please consider this when storing fuel at home and follow our advice.”

A spokesman for South Central Ambulance Service added: “We have robust operational plans in place in the event of any disruption to fuel supply and have additional fuel provisions available to us should they be required at any point.

“We continue to monitor the situation and work closely with our partners so we can adapt and mitigate any risks should they arise.”

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said the force was “continuing to work as normal”.