Danger: UK Transport Minister Tells People Not To Fill Up Water Bottles With Petrol Amid Crisis

Up to 150 British Army tanker drivers have been put on standby to deliver fuel to petrol stations which have run out because of panic buying. Petrol started running out at the weekend after the UK media ran stories about the shortage of lorry drivers.

Britain's Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has urged motorists not to fill up jerrycans and water bottles with petrol during the crisis.

Mr Shapps said there were "tentative signs" the situation was calming down and he told the BBC: "Once we all return to our normal buying habits the quicker we get back to normality."

What country comes to mind when you stumble on headlines like this?
Stop bringing plastic water bottles to fill up at petrol stations, Grant Shapps tells drivers

— Saheed Okerayi (@saherayi_15) September 28, 2021

But despite his positivity there is little sign of an end to the panic buying with huge queues outside the petrol stations which do have fuel, which is causing traffic jams in London and many other towns and cities.

Mr Shapps appealed to the public: “No more water bottles at petrol stations. It’s dangerous and not helpful."

Social media in recent days has included video clips of motorists fighting each other as tempers frayed in the queues.

There is no fuel shortage in Britain. But judging by the ridiculous scenes at petrol stations all over the country, there is a massive brain cell shortage.

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 27, 2021

Others, instead of waiting in the queue, have simply walked in with water bottles and filled them up at the pumps before taking them home and pouring them into their tanks.

There have also been reports that panicking drivers have filled their tanks up with the wrong fuel, causing their vehicles to break down and creating more havoc.

Some petrol stations have tried to give priority to ambulances, police cars and healthcare professionals but the queues have made this difficult.

David Scade, 33, a deliver driver in London, said he spent hours trying to find fuel for his van. He told Reuters: "I can't believe it. It's crazy. They keep saying there is no shortage but I suppose everyone is panicking now."

It is the worst fuel crisis in Britain since September 2000 when a blockade of oil refineries caused panic buying.

Retailers have warned that if the petrol crisis is not resolved the price of Christmas food and gifts will rise.

The chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, Brian Madderson, told Sky News: "It's the big urban centres on the mainland in England which seem to have this problem of higher than average demand."

An interesting question - are people getting panicked and filling up their cars like idiots, or has the rate of filling up with the wrong fuel remained constant but demand for fuel has increased five-fold? https://t.co/r3QZDZjCVv

— Alexander McCarron ⚔ (@alexmaccaroon) September 28, 2021

The British government has announced plans to issue three-month visas to EU nationals in a bid to hire 5,000 truck drivers.

But with a shortage of HGV drivers across Europe and rising wages on the continent, there is scepticism in the haulage industry that this will make any difference.