Petrol station worker: We're not trained for a fuel crisis

You may have suffered long queues or had to cancel plans this week because you couldn't get fuel, but imagine working at a petrol station.

Forecourts have been crowded, customers have been aggressive, and many staff aren't trained to deal with it.

That's according to one worker, speaking to BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat, whose called them "unprecedented times".

The pressure on petrol stations began with a shortage of fuel tanker drivers but panic buying has made things worse.

• What's in short supply and why?

'Not trained to deal with this'

For 22-year-old Callum - whose surname we're not using to protect his identity - the first day of the panic buying was especially difficult because of how unexpected it was.

"There was two of us, I was at the back trying to usher cars in. And then we found our manager and had security posted for the first time, which is surreal," he says.

He admits being on the forecourt with so many customers has been hard.

"We've had to prioritise people when we get low, groups like emergency workers and other key workers," Callum says

"You've got care workers, NHS staff, police officers and we're having to turn people away because we've got no fuel. Customers have been in tears over it."

"It's been tough and we're really not trained to deal with this kind of situation, so we've had to wing it really," he adds.

'Being thanked more than ever'

The government says there are "tentative signs" the petrol crisis is stabilising, but retailers say the demand for petrol isn't slowing down yet.

Callum feels there are always some customers that are aggressive but it's been "ramped up" in the past few days.

"The desperation aspect has made it ramp up. We've had complaints against us personally because we've run out, but we have no control over that."

But there have also been kinder customers, with Callum being "thanked more in the past week than I have my entire life".

He feels there are customers "genuinely running out of fuel" but there are also those coming who still have half a tank of petrol in their car.

"Most people are wonderful and understand the situation. But you've always got the minority who are quite selfish and inward looking."

"We've had to tell them you don't need any right now unless you have a long distance journey."

What's causing the problem?

A shortage of lorry drivers has created problems for a range of industries in recent months, from supermarkets to fast food chains.

Last month McDonald's said it ran out of milkshakes at restaurants in England, Scotland and Wales, saying a lorry driver shortage was one reason.

In recent days, some fuel deliveries were affected, leading to panic buying and lengthy queues at some petrol stations.

The government has said it's considering deploying the army to deliver fuel.

• Why is there an HGV driver shortage?

• Why are there long queues for petrol?

• Army put on standby to ease fuel crisis

It also announced it would offer temporary visas, lasting until Christmas Eve, to 5,000 foreign fuel tanker and food lorry drivers and 5,500 poultry workers in a bid to limit disruption in the build up to Christmas.

Callum says he's grateful for his colleagues during all of this and wants people to show patience.

"It's the same up and down the country. People just need to understand this is something that people who work at petrol stations have never been through before."

"Everyone's putting in their best efforts to try and make sure that everybody gets the fuel they need," he adds.

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