愛污传媒

Skip to main content

U.K. gas stations run dry as trucker shortage sparks hoarding

A view of a sign at a petrol station, in Bracknell England, Sunday Sept. 26, 2021. (Steve Parsons/PA via AP) A view of a sign at a petrol station, in Bracknell England, Sunday Sept. 26, 2021. (Steve Parsons/PA via AP)
Share
London -

Thousands of British gas stations ran dry Sunday, an industry group said, as motorists scrambled to fill up amid a supply disruption due to a shortage of truck drivers.

The Petrol Retailers Association, which represents almost 5,500 independent outlets, said about two-thirds of its members were reporting that they had sold out their fuel, with the rest "partly dry and running out soon."

Association chairman Brian Madderson said the shortages were the result of "panic buying, pure and simple."

"There is plenty of fuel in this country, but it is in the wrong place for the motorists," he told the BBC. "It is still in the terminals and the refineries."

Long lines of vehicles formed at many gas stations over the weekend, and tempers frayed as some drivers waited for hours. Police were called to one London gas station Sunday after a scuffle broke out. Police said a man was arrested on suspicion of assault.

The haulage industry says the U.K. is short tens of thousands of truckers, due to a perfect storm of factors including the coronavirus pandemic, an aging workforce and an exodus of foreign workers following Britain's Brexit departure from the European Union last year.

Several countries, including the United States and Germany, also are experiencing a shortage of truck drivers. The problem has been especially visible in Britain, where it has contributed to empty supermarket shelves and shuttered gas pumps.

After weeks of mounting pressure, the U.K.'s Conservative government announced Saturday that it will issue thousands of emergency visas to foreign truck drivers to help prevent a Christmas without turkey or toys for many British families. The government said it would issue 5,000 three-month visas for truck drivers starting in October, and another 5,500 for poultry workers.

Industry groups welcomed the new visa plan, although the British Retail Consortium said it was "too little, too late."

Ruby McGregor-Smith, president of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the announcement was "the equivalent of throwing a thimble of water on a bonfire.".

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Emotions boiled over after a judge acquitted two out of three defendants in a manslaughter case, while the third accused has since died.

Political leaders are condemning what they describe as "hateful rhetoric" from a speaker at a pro-Palestinian rally in Vancouver who told the crowd that 'we are Hezbollah and we are Hamas.'

On September 11, Madeleine Gervais was the victim of a theft in Ottawa's west end. It happened in the Loblaws parking lot in College Square, when she was approached by a man and a woman who insisted to help her load her groceries into her car.

A British Columbia provincial court judge says a Boston Bar man who shot a teacup Chihuahua named Bear claiming it was menacing his chickens was not justified in killing the animal.

Local Spotlight

A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.

Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

Bernie Hicks, known as the 鈥楤atman of Amherst,鈥 always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.

Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.

Manitobans are in cleanup mode after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province this weekend.

Avry Wortman, 13, scored two touchdowns on Sunday during her team's win in the under 14 Greater Moncton Football Association.

A gargantuan gourd 鈥 affectionately named 鈥極rangina鈥 by the urban gardeners who grew it in the front yard of their Vancouver home 鈥 earned the massive honour of being named B.C.鈥檚 heaviest giant pumpkin Saturday.

Stay Connected