Drivers told not to panic buy fuel in Wirral as queues grow

The sudden surge of people filling up their tanks has arrived after petrol giant BP announced that it has temporarily closed a selection of its fuel stations across the country due to a shortage of HGV drivers to supply its outlets.

As many as 40 cars were reported to have been queuing for fuel at Asda on the Croft Retail Park in Bromborough earlier today - a scenario that has been played out in several other parts of the borough.

A Wirral Twitter user told the the Globe: "My wife is a paramedic working in Wigan. She had to queue for 30 minutes in Sea View Road, Liscard or she wouldn’t have made it to work."

Other reported hotspots included Sainsbury's petrol station on Woodchurch Road, King Street in Wallasey, petrol stations in Upton including Shell, the BP garage in Greasby and Morrison's in West Kirby.

The BP Garage in Greasby also had large queues this afternoon. Photo: Craig Manning

BP, Esso and Tesco petrol forecourts were impacted by challenges getting petrol deliveries.

BP said that around 20 of its 1,200 petrol forecourts were closed due to a lack of available fuel, with between 50 and 100 sites affected by the loss of at least one grade of fuel.

A “small number” of Tesco refilling stations have also been impacted, said Esso owner ExxonMobil, which runs the sites.

Despite the rush to fill up tanks, ministers insist that there is no shortage of fuel and drivers are asked not to make unscheduled trips for fuel.

Cars queing to get into Shell fuel station in Upton. Photo: Craig Manning

The Transport Secretary has tried to dissuade drivers from panic buying petrol, although there have been chaotic scenes at petrol stations across the country.

Grant Shapps said on Friday that motorists should “carry on as normal”.

“The advice would be to carry on as normal, and that is what BP is saying as well,” he told Sky News.