Fuel supply: Military arrives at Buncefield oil depot to deliver fuel

Military personnel arrived in Hertfordshire earlier to help deliver fuel

Military personnel have arrived at an oil depot to help deliver fuel.

Members of the armed forces were seen arriving at the Buncefield depot at Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire.

The government announced the military would be drafted in to deliver fuel to petrol stations from Monday.

Almost 200 servicemen and women, 100 of them drivers, have been brought in to provide "temporary" support to ease pressure on stations, the government said.

Military personnel, in uniform and wearing face masks, were spotted walking near the gates of the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal, which is Buncefield's official name.

A tanker arrives at the Buncefield oil depot

In a press release on Saturday the government said "demand for fuel has stabilised throughout the week and more fuel is now being delivered than is being sold, however some parts of the country still face challenges".

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Involving trained military personnel in the distribution of fuel would "provide temporary support as part of the government's wider action to further relieve pressure on petrol stations and address the shortage of HGV drivers", it added.

The military has been deployed to help with the delivery of fuel

About 22% of filling stations in London and south-east England still did not have fuel, according to the executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association, Gordon Balmer.