Huge queues have been reported at petrol garages across Thanet – and the country- as drivers worry they will not be able to fill up due to supply issues.
Although there is not a fuel shortage there is a current lack of HGV drivers to make the deliveries.
The driver shortage has been caused by a combination of factors. European drivers with UK routes returned home during the pandemic and many have not returned, others stopped UK routes after the introduction of Brexit and there is a backlog of new drivers waiting to take their tests.
Queues in Thanet have been reported at most filling stations including at The Broadway in Broadstairs, Westwood supermarkets, Cliftonville and Tesco in Manston where cars are now waiting as far back as the Manston Road bridge. BP garage in Garlinge is reported to have sold out.
The queues for petrol are also causing congestion and hampering bus services.
#Thanet – Due to people queuing at service stations across Thanet, most of our services are currently subject to delays pic.twitter.com/cKvSOETRUv
— Stagecoach South East (@StagecoachSE) September 24, 2021
Government is urging motorists to buy fuel ‘as usual’ and not panic buy.
A statement from Logistics UK, formerly the Freight Transport Association, says:“Logistics UK is aware of reports that petrol supplies are currently being affected by the HGV driver shortage.
“The driver shortage is a very serious issue that needs urgent government and industry action to resolve, however, we urge people not to panic buy; the logistics industry is resilient and has proven capable of supporting shops, families and businesses during COVID-19, border closures and the first stages of Brexit, and will continue to serve the needs of the nation.”
Too late they already are panic buying within 20 minutes of it being on the news last night the queues started.
Don’t panic, Boris “will take back control”
The selfishness of most people in the country exposed again!
Why is it selfish? Alot of people rely on petrol for work
So why are there not queues like this everyday then?
It’s those sitting there with there engines running
Folk going to with are not the problem. It’s ministers shouting Don’t Panic that are the problem. Perhaps if Schapps had kept his gob shut this wouldn’t have happened
Pathetic people again showing the bad side of our society. The press also have to accept the blame for this again😡😡
*Some* of the press. This is the only article we have run about the issue so the queues were there first
Idiots that cannot wait to get in a queue for whatever is in short supply. This is selfish, greedy Britain, as the Tories have made it. Stockpiling with their jerry-cans loaded just in case. Same as when the toilet rolls were stripped of the shelves. The supermarkets should ration supplies so everyone gets a fair crack of the whip. I know one neighbour is driving around all the garages looking for the shortest queue whilst wasting fuel just to fill up ! Senseless.
Too late – shouldn’t have said anything in the first place
Start of pandemic all over again in panic buying
Call out the Army
It is completely pointless requesting people “not to panic buy” they’re going to do it regardless. I feel sorry for the few that are in the que who normally purchase their fuel on a Friday, shouting to themselves “IM NOT PANIC BUYING” 😂
The one way to stop this would be for all fuel stations to have someone at the entrance and if the car has half a tank or more, they are not permitted to enter. Simple.
Aren’t we on the brink of a climate catastrophe?
Why are people using fossil fueled cars anyway?
Because the future is not battery powered cars which are not that great for the environment, when you look at the manufacturing and shipping round the world for the batteries plus what happens to the old batteries when they are no good anymore. The future is hydrogen cars and they are not regularly available yet
Yep, hydrogen is the solution, cleaner, more efficient and fill up the car in the normal way, a few years ago there was supposed to be an unprecedented roll out of hydrogen fuel stations! this was around 2015 but for some reason it never happened, even though its the cleaner and cheaper alternative.
Because nothing else is on the market. Electric cars are con and you cant get far on them. Hydrogen cars are the way forward
In order to have hydrogen cars, you need to have hydrogen gas. A very volatile and explosive gas. And you have to produce it somehow, and store it safely.
Electric cars aren’t the answer either: the huge amount of electricity needed to charge up 32 million cars has to be generated, and delivered.
A better solution is to forget cars altogether, and walk or cycle, and for longer journeys take a bus, train or taxi.
Maybe because many of them rely on it for work Andrew. They don’t all have time on their hands like you Andrew
That’s the overwhelming major calamitous obstacle in the way of reaching zero carbon: too many of us, Trete, have come to rely on our cars.
People should be using public transport-what’s left of it- whenever possible, and lobbying the government for more and better public transport with integrated timetables.
it wasnt that long ago when there wasnt any soap or toilet rolls on the shelves , people are like sheep – i hope they get lumbered with it.
Absolute muppets. There is no problem until idiots do this and create the problem. It’s the panic buying situation again.
Minster COOP is gridlocked, queues going way past Cliffs End !!
So much for the “stiff upper lip”. I was stuck in a queue this morning and I wasn’t even going to the garage! I just wondered why the traffic was so slow! Until I saw the garage ahead! It’s not easy to just pull out into the oncoming lane to get past dozens of cars, hoping nothing comes the other way. (It did!)
Anyway, it’s true that this will eventually settle down after a few years if the drivers’ pay increases enough and if they begin to be treated decently, like the drivers on the Continent with their special parking areas and restaurants.
But that would mean that people currently in even lower-paid jobs will take up some of the lorry-driving jobs. So who will do the jobs they have left?
We are already short of farm-workers(a SKILLED job, not just fruit pickers).
We need shop-workers, warehouse staff, bar and restaurant staff, including trained chefs and ,even more, Care workers (A VERY skilled job!)
If younger workers turn to lorry-driving instead, who will replace them in the jobs they have left?
We may have a bigger population than in the past, but the increase is mainly in old geezers on pensions like me. (And I have no intention of becoming a “barrista” or an apple-picker with my bad shoulder!).
And we have not even bothered to replace ourselves by having enough children to fill the jobs we retired from. My wife and I were too busy working to earn enough just to live and pay the mortgage on a modest semi -detached to have more than one child.
Ever wondered why Scottish nationalists have no problem announcing a warm welcome to new immigrants into their country once independent? Because they know which way the population is trending. Too many oldsters and too few young workers to care for them!
English nationalists may whinge about “these immigrants” being a problem. But we are going to need workers from somewhere. I know, I know, many say “This isn’t the Brexit I voted for”. Well, this is the Brexit that I voted against!
Not sure? I’ll see you in the next petrol queue. We ‘ll have LOADS of time to discuss it!
What’s this about panic buying?
Did someone mention toilet rolls, I’m off to stock up now, a whole car load, before the shelves empty.
… if you can get petrol for your car!
Brexit – the benefits keep on flowing…or…hmmm…well…
I blame the media for this panic buying !
They created what is now a problem.
Yes Kathy some of the press. You do very good coverage on local issues.
Someone we know told me he was in the queue at Tesco’s. I said do you need to fill up he replied “not really but it will top up my club points” FFS
Oh yes was it 21 years ago,this same month,in 2000,people were panic buying,and petrol stations ran high and dry,and we had another clown of a prime minister TONY BLAIR. Keep it up boris u clown.
I blame you short sighted fools who fell for all the fake EU stories. Johnson and Farage have a record of a thousand promises and a thousand lies. Boris even claimed our gas bills will drop. They should both be put on trial.
Was all the green agenda not initiated by Milliband?
TG cos no other politician has ever lied about anything have they? the biggest liar of all has to be Blair and his lies about the weapons of mass destruction a huge lie that took us in to a war that had nothing whatsoever to do with us he was just brown nosing Bush for his own benefit needless to say no one believes a word he has to say any more the man has B blood of soldiers on on his hands which is inexcusable.
Nothing to fear good citizens! We anticipated the impending lack of meat, ability to perform hospital operations, fuel, rising electricity prices, HGV drivers etc & have taken all possible steps to do nothing about it whatsoever. We have however signed a wonderful deal with the USA & Australia to supply some nuclear dinghy’s to float off the coast of China. Remember, don’t panic-everything is under total control & don’t forget to get as many jabs as possible, salute the Union Jack & sing God Save Our Queen every waking hour.
It not the prime minister’s to blame,ie Tony Blair or Boris Johnson, it’s the media that has caused panic, by saying, “don’t panic”, plums !!
Well thanks to all you idiots my niece who finishes her shift at canterbury hospital tonight and was relying on fuel to get home will probably end up on the train and a long walk. Great job everyone
Same here I’m nhs health worker and can’t do a shift in medway towns as I haven’t enough fuel, so think on everyone when nhs have to get to work
But those people who hoarded toilet roll, soap, gloves, food etc during the first lockdown for months so yo uguys & the rest of us struggled to find them & are now hoarding fuel really love the NHS-they stood outside & clapped for you.
Choose to have an almost empty tank and you can expect to have a few problems occasionally. Hardly the end of the world rather a bit of an inconvenience, in don’t run the tank so low.
exactly LC any responsible driver would not run their cars on a low tank because of the problems the muck at the bottom of the tank could cause to the engine, has common sense been completely lost on such things?
who is the idiot Trevor? most people who drive do not let their fuel run down to where they haven’t got enough to do their trips to and from work except of course your niece
Most people don’t expect the idiots that panic buy to rush out and fill their cars to the brim and jerry cans in the boot, to leave everyone else in this situation. If people actually thought about others rather than just looking out for themselves there would be no issue, but that is the problem most people only care for themselves and do not care how there actions affect others. The queues over the roads today where shocking, shows how pathetic people are to rush out and buy petrol.
Most people live a hand to mouth existence & only buy things when they need them-they don’t go around filling their engine up to maximum & hoarding petrol into Jerry Cans at multiple petrol stations like the idiots we have been saying the last few days.
Keith, some people have to budget their income and work out how much money they have on each expenditure.
People are being cruel to suggest that people should have been prepared and not run a car on low fuel,
not everyone can afford to fill their car up, obviously like you!!
Circumstances are different for each individual.
So be kind and don’t just blame people as idiots, you idiot
Faulty logic.
If you put a few gallons of fuel in your car it costs just the same whether the tank is almost full or almost empty. Common sense says that it’s better to keep the tank rather full, than empty.
And what happens when that fuels runs out-thanks to idiots panic buying & the government racism & incompetence that allowed it to happen?
Stanley if a person is unable to afford the petrol for a car then do not run a car and what might I ask makes you think I do not have to budget my money?you know sod all about me and what is with the pathetic name calling? grow up, Stanley it is a well known fact to most drivers you DO NOT drive a car on an empty tank, system failures will follow but if you want to look the idiot ask any engineer in a garage but you won’t do that will you?
I agree Andrew, but due to some circumstances that tank can get low, without your intention, so you are back at square if yoy are on a tight budget
There’s always an exception. But, I’m sure you will agree, when ever you can, keep your tank reasonably full.
This issue is all down to the Thatcher policies back in the early eighties. It has turned everyone in society to become self centred greedy pigs. Sorry but has to be said …
Bored with it all do not judge everyone by your own standards
Thatcher really did turn this country into a me me society and sod everyone. She completely ruin this country from the greed bankers, the lack of working class homes, to destroying the unions, the steel works, the miners, the car workers, the schools, the NHS, pole tax etc etc. She was evil.
So now with live with her mess of selfish Britain, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and sod everyone.
I fully agree with u Thatcher was a evil cow-and so was blair.
We don’t need sob stories or how important this is or you are I like most have a car because I use it and my I work is 26 miles from home so when I need petrol I want petrol. On a positive note all those who filled up today won’t be in the queue tomorrow.
The media and government have stoked the fire. The lemmings (lay public) just acting in a selfish manner. I am a health care professional and need a car to get to work. I am sure the lemmings will complain if health care facilities did not have staff due to no fuel to travel to work. Well done lemmings. You should be so proud. Equally when demand goes up, price goes up. That’s all fuels now gas, electricity and petrol/diesel. Take a standing ovation.
All you people who rushed out and queued today to get petrol when it wasn’t necessary should be ashamed of yourselves. I was going to fill up today but couldn’t. I’m the sole carer for my parents who are 93 and both are unwell at the moment. I have to go there every day, and be on call for emergencies. You idiots might prevent me from getting there. You all believe everything you read or hear on the TV without finding out facts. You really are pathetic stupid idiots
If you say don’t panic guess what happens? Take all the time you need. There wasn’t any problems locally but there will be now.
Like many others we have worked though out the pandemic. And as usual it’s the workers that cop it. First we had trouble getting food etc due to panic buying.
Now we are having trouble getting fuel to go to work or even to do our work.
We havent had a holiday for nearly two years now, booked up for holiday in Devon from the 4th of October. If this mess isnt sorted it will probably mean not going and losing our money. And boy do we need a holiday.
Large numbers of these country spent their furlough on holiday and panic buying food as we worked. Now its panic buying petrol as we work.
I am getting fed up with this country and the me me attitude brought on by Thatcher.
Thanks PB for helping the panic buying if they had kept their gobs shut non of this would be happening. I wont be buying from BP again
How come a man can fill up 3 cans with petrol,all wrong when genuine people need petrol .
The chap is a genuine chap. He’s doing exactly what this government wants you to do: look after self first.
He’ll probably sell you a litre for £5.00. Highly laudable private enterprise.
Its really a ploy to buy electric engined cars, kind of happy i did for many reasons. Ta tesla.
Speaking with other colleagues today who were hunting for squirt, there was plenty early this morning but queue up wait 20-40 minutes.
Now those filling stations have run out and closed, not expecting delivery until next week.
Local Motorway services, was told they were restricting derv for hgv vehicles only so they switched off the pumps which cars use. Plenty of petrol thou.
BP limekiln st dover, has plenty petrol and dirty diesel. Phone them up before travelling there. They charge more than supermarkets thou.
Perfect storm on the horizon, others will disagree !
One relatively simple answer, seeing as even Europe is facing driver shortages, and here a lot of hgv drivers are leaving for a better home life, the answer is use the railways, it’s what they were built for, yes and even the Eurostar, sold as a way of getting unnecessary lorries of Kent roads, ( in reality just so the then MEPs could get to Brussels quicker,now a reduced service apparently), this would cut down the amount of drivers needed, create better hours and working conditions for the drivers, and also free up road space, but also create jobs
How would that work ? The shop owners come to the station to pick up the goods ?
Every train station to have a haulage year ?
*yard not year 😉
Would just like to say thanks!!!! Who need petrol anyway a ????? Was going to propose to my girlfriend this weekend but got no fuel to take me and my disabled son there!!!!!
Great Britain idea a ashamed I am!!!!!!