Experts warn fuel crisis is WORSENING in parts of the country

Stabilising? Fuel crisis gets WORSE as greedy garage boss charges nearly £3 a litre for petrol – and prises could rise by up to 5p a litre this week

  • Drivers warned they face skyrocketing price hikes for their fuel, with one garage charging almost £3 per litre
  • Retailers said today while improvements were seen in the north, the situation is worsening in the south east 
  • Soldiers will begin delivering petrol to forecourts across the UK from Monday in a bid to end recent fuel crisis
  • But industry bosses said the move is not a ‘panacea’ and called for urgent action to give drivers confidence

Greedy garage bosses were charging almost £3 for a litre of petrol yesterday amid warnings that the fuel crisis is worsening in London and the South East.

Motorists are being told prices could rise by up to 5p a litre this week as industry chiefs claimed the situation is getting worse in London and parts of the South East.

With Army personnel poised to start delivering fuel, The Mail on Sunday discovered one Gulf petrol station in West London charging £2.93 per litre for Super Unleaded – a staggering 47 per cent more than its normal price of £1.98.

Figures compiled by the FairFuelUK campaign group indicated that the average national price of a litre of petrol now stands at 141.9p, which is up from 136.5p.

Meanwhile, diesel drivers are now paying 145.5p rather than the usual 139.2p.

FairFuelUK’s Howard Cox said that pump prices were likely to increase by between 3p and 5p next week – and accused ‘opportunistic’ petrol stations of profiteering.

‘We want fair prices for consumers,’ Mr Cox said, ‘but right now Britain’s motorists are being ripped off under the smokescreen of the chaos.

‘Hardworking people are simply being fleeced.’

Greedy garage bosses were charging almost £3 for a litre of petrol yesterday amid warnings that the fuel crisis is worsening in London and the South East. Above: Fuel crisis rumbles on in Loughton, Essex

Motorists are being told prices could rise by up to 5p a litre this week as industry chiefs claimed the situation is worsening

An aerial shot shows the extent of the queues for fuel this morning at a Tesco petrol station in Ely, Cambridgeshire

A driver fills up their Bentley at a petrol station in Baker Street, central London, today, as experts predicts the fuel crisis to worsen

Huge queues again formed this morning at a petrol station in Ely, Cambridgeshire, amid fears the crisis is getting worse in the south east

A customer at the Gulf petrol station at Sloane Services charging £2.93 a litre told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s not ideal, it’s certainly very expensive, but under the circumstances, I don’t think I’ve got much choice.’ 

A member of staff at the petrol station said: ‘We are not responsible for setting the prices.’

Military personnel will start distributing fuel from tomorrow.

At a Co-op filling station in Swanley, Kent, soldiers were yesterday given lessons by staff on filling the fuel station reservoir from a tanker.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) Brian Madderson said the shortage remains a ‘really big problem’.

‘In London and the South East and possibly parts of eastern England, if anything it had got worse,’ Mr Madderson told Radio 4’s Today programme. 

‘No Fuel’ signage is displayed at a closed filling station in Streatham Hill, south London, on Saturday morning

Downing Street yesterday insisted there was plenty of fuel in the UK, and that shortages had been caused solely by panic buying. Pictured: A soldier in an oil tanker in Purfleet

The decision to send in the Army (pictured: military at Buncefield fuel storage) to tackle the crisis comes after a week of U-turns in which ministers have flip-flopped on the issue

Nearly 200 military drivers are being deployed to the worst-hit areas, Downing Street confirmed. Pictured: Military personnel seen at the BP Oil plant in Hemel Hempstead Herts

Staff were this morning directing the queues as the panic buying continues amid Britain’s ongoing fuel crisis

He welcomed the announcement that military drivers are to be deployed, but warned it will have a limited impact.

‘This isn’t going to be the major panacea. It’s a large help but, in terms of the volume, they are not going to be able to carry that much. We do need a prioritisation of deliveries to filling stations particularly the independent ones which are the neighbourhood retail sites in London and the South East starting immediately,’ he said.

In an effort to encourage calm, Health Secretary Sajid Javid yesterday insisted that the fuel crisis is ‘stabilising’ in most parts of the country and the military is being deployed as a ‘precaution’.

‘I think it is right that as a precaution the Government has asked the military to help,’ he told Sky News. ‘I think that is the right measure to take to make sure that people have all the confidence that they need. I think that will further stabilise the situation and give more confidence.’

Data from the PRA yesterday showed that 16 per cent of petrol stations have no fuel – an improvement on more than a quarter on Friday. Mr Madderson said: ‘In the North, Scotland, some parts of the Midlands there was a distinct improvement in fewer dry sites.’

Despite that, there are still concerns over the shortage of HGV drivers. The Government announced on Friday that 300 fuel drivers would be able to come to Britain from abroad ‘immediately’ as part of a bespoke visa programme that will last until March.

Another 4,700 other visas intended for foreign food haulage drivers will extend beyond the initial period of three months and will instead last from late October to the end of February.

In addition, 5,500 poultry workers will also be allowed in to keep supermarket shelves full ahead of Christmas.

The decision to deploy soldiers to start deliver petrol comes as Rishi Sunak warned shortages of goods could continue until Christmas. Pictured: Fuel tankers at Buncefield fuel storage

Military drivers will be deployed to deliver fuel to forecourts from Monday as the crisis at the pumps continues

No fuel signs are placed outside the forecourt of an Esso filling station in Wimbledon, South West London as the fuel supply crisis continues

Petrol nozzles are covered at an Esso filling station in Wimbledon, South West London as the fuel supply crisis continues

Petrol nozzles are covered at an Esso filling station in Wimbledon, South West London as the fuel supply crisis continues

No fuel signs are placed outside the forecourt of an Esso filling station in Wimbledon, South West London as the fuel supply crisis continues

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