Panic buying seen in UK as fuel crisis persists

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) - Despite the government's claims that the energy shortage will be gone in weeks, the UK's fuel crisis has persisted on Friday.

According to a statement by the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), an independent trade union that represents 65% of the UK’s nearly 10,000 petrol stations, people were still unable to refuel their vehicles due to shortages across the country.

At least 21% of motorists reported a shortage of fuel. Staff at various fuel stations have been facing verbal abuses and harassment by motorists looking for fuel.

“Trying to calm the situation right now is a huge task. Demand continues to rise,” PRA Chairman Brian Madderson said, adding British soldiers will be delivering fuel by the coming weekend.

On Wednesday, PRA Executive Director Gordon Balmer released a statement reassuring the public that the crisis will end soon. “There are early signs that the crisis at pumps is ending, with more of our members reporting that they are now taking further deliveries of fuel.”

“Fuel stocks remain normal at refineries and terminals, although deliveries have been reduced due to the shortage of large goods vehicle (HGV) drivers. We have conducted a survey of our members this morning and only 37% of forecourts have reported being out of fuel today. With regular restock taking place, this percentage is likely to improve further over the next 24 hours,” Balmer added.

Earlier this week, the military was put on stand-by due to a lack of HGV drivers resulting in the ensuing fuel crisis and other shortages in the food sector. Delivery and haulage companies are currently training soldiers on the specific requirements and rules on delivering petrol to stations.