The queues and lack of fuel at petrol stations up and down the country could last 'for a further week', industry chiefs have said.
Petrol Retailers Association chairman Brian Madderson said; "It’s going to take a long while to get back to normal."
He also reiterated that there is no shortage of fuel, the issue is not having enough tankers and drivers to get the petrol and diesel to forecourts as motorists continue to fill up, reports The Mirror.
READ MORE: Live updates from our petrol stations
A number of petrol stations across Coventry and Warwickshire, as well as further afield, had to close at the weekend after running out of fuel, or were instead dealing with long queues of drivers not wanting to be running on empty.
The shortages have also had a knock-on effect to other industries with police officers being forced to queue jump for fuel and paramedics facing delays.
The lack of HGV drivers is also causing as many as one in five supermarket deliveries to be late or cancelled, reports The Mirror.
Petrol Retailers Association chairman Brian Madderson told the Mirror: “We think it’s going to go on for at least a further week, maybe ten days.
“The problem we’ve got is there are a finite number of tankers that can carry fuel and a finite number of drivers.
“There will be some respite because the cars of panic buyers are full...but I can’t see a quick fix.
“It’s going to take a long while to get back to normal where all forecourts have the right amount of fuel.”
Mr Madderson says between 50 and 90 per cent of the UK’s forecourts - 8,350 in total - are currently dry, adding “those that aren’t dry are partly dry and running out soon".
Mr Madderson also stated: “It’s been absolutely horrendous. We’ve heard about altercations, bad words, honking of horns.
“It’s just total frustration, which I share, but mine is directed more towards the Government.
“It is a complete omnishambles and I lay that directly at the door of Grant Shapps (Transport Secretary).”
In an effort to solve the issues, hundreds of soldiers could be scrambled to help deliver fuel to petrol stations as part of an emergency plan being considered by Boris Johnson.
The Guardian reports that the Prime Minister will gather ministers to pore over "Operation Escalin" after BP admitted that a third of its petrol stations had run out of the main two grades of fuel.
The Petrol Retailers Association fears thousands of independents will soon follow suit.
Labour leader Keir Starmer accused the Government of a “lack of planning”, adding: “I’m astonished the Government, knowing the situation, is not acting today.”
The Conservatives plant to issue 5,000 temporary Visas to foreign drivers in a bid to alleviate the driver shortage. These would last for 12 weeks.
However, the drivers who he hopes to attract say the Government’s offer is not tempting.
Imran Mustafa, 32, who lives in Barcelona, said: “I would move but not for three months.
“It’s not enough time as we don’t know the roads, the maps or how it all works.
“...French people, German people, Spanish people, they’re already earning a lot of money, so why would they move to the UK for three months only on a temporary visa?”
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