Shropshire sees mix of no petrol and 'panic buying'

The Esso station in Halesfield, Telford, was said to be 'hectic'

A petrol station manager says it has been "unpleasant" to leave health workers who "urgently" want fuel without it.

Graham Wylde, who runs Shawbury Service Station in Shropshire, says empty-handed customers are unhappy amid a national shortage of delivery drivers.

He said technical snags in the past had meant petrol could not be dispensed.

But it was the first time in nearly 50 years of trading he had no petrol to sell at all, he said.

A delivery had been due at the site at 06:00 on Friday but it never turned up, with a driver shortage given as the reason.

Nationally, a small number of petrol stations have closed because of the lack of delivery drivers.

"It has not been a very pleasant day at all," Mr Wylde said.

"We've had a situation similar [to this]; all pumps gone wrong, which happens occasionally due to an electrical fault. But never - even in the days of the Suez Canal and rationing - I've no product to sell."

Mr Wylde runs Shawbury Service Station near Shrewsbury

Mr Wylde added that while he had closed the forecourt, he was keeping the attached convenience store open - and his staff in work on full pay.

In the meantime, customers wanting petrol have been left disappointed.

"Some people urgently want fuel, health workers, doctors, anything like that, and I can't sell it to them because I haven't got any.

"Customers are not happy at all.

"I have spent most of the day on the phone trying to get fuel for tomorrow."

Queues have been reported at petrol stations across the West Midlands, including one in Meole Brace, Shrewsbury

Other petrol stations in Shropshire have reported no supply issues but say they are seeing increased customer demand - about two or three times more than usual.

Beverley Oldcorn, a manager at Esso in Halesfield, Telford, said Friday had been "hectic".

The station had temporarily closed at 16:30 BST, she said, so staff could assess the situation and what fuel they had left.

"There is no fuel shortage, it is just people panic buying really," she said.

"It has been manic; really busy since about 05:30, since we opened."

At Stan's Superstore in St Martin's, near Oswestry, partner Andrew Faulks said that by 16:00 its petrol station had done treble the amount of business it had done by Friday last week.

"It is all a bit mad really," he said.

"It is a massive surge in sales. People are reading the papers, radio, TV, and they are all filling up their tanks."

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Ms Oldcorn blamed the issue, in part, on a "media-caused frenzy" after it was reported a "handful" of BP stations, and a small number of Esso-owned Tesco Alliance stations, had shut due to the supply problems.

Senior ministers are set to meet to discuss the issues. Transport minister Grant Shapps said people should carry on buying petrol as normal.

Mr Shapps said refineries had "plenty of petrol".