IT HAS been another difficult day at petrol stations in Harlow.

Queues had started up in the early morning.

Our films below show the state of play at the Texaco garage on Tillwicks Road and the two stations on the A414 near the M11.

St Clare Hospice made an appeal on social media for staff to be given access to petrol as otherwise they couldn’t get to see patients.

Some stations prioritised NHS staff.

Tesco were able to help out: “Thank you @Tesco #Harlow (Edinburgh Way) and ChurchLangley for helping make sure our #hospiceathome nurses have the petrol they need today to get to the homes of people who are at the end of their life and need our care. We’re so grateful

MP Robert Halfon made an appeal for calm. He said: “I know many residents have concerns about fuel supply and many are stuck in long queues as I post this, but please be sensible. Fill up normally and when you need to.”

Meanwhile, nationally

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Offering temporary visas to foreign lorry drivers will not be enough to solve supply chain issues, retailers and hauliers have said.

The government’s planned measures would not fix the “ultra-short term” problems caused by panic buying, the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) said.

It said some of its members say their forecourts are running dry and others “are partly dry and running out soon”.
Long queues have formed and pumps have closed at some filling stations.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has blamed the Road Haulage Association for triggering a “rush on petrol stations”.

He also told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show there was “plenty of fuel” and that he had checked with the six refineries and 47 storage centres in the country.

But Brian Madderson, chairman of the PRA, which represents about 5,500 independent petrol stations, told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend that while there was plenty of fuel in the country “it is in the wrong place for the motorist” – in terminals and the refineries.

He said: “Those measures introduced by the government this weekend are not ultra-short term.
“We might see benefits of them later in the autumn as the drivers come across and start to work. But in the very short-term this panic buying has caused really serious problems.”

He added that “between 50% and 90%” of the PRA’s members had reported their forecourts were running dry and “those that aren’t dry are partly dry and running out soon”.

A shortage of lorry drivers has caused problems for a range of industries in recent months, from supermarkets to fast food chains.

In recent days, some fuel deliveries have been affected, leading to lengthy queues at some petrol stations.

On Saturday the government announced measures to give temporary visas, lasting until Christmas Eve, to 5,000 fuel tanker and food lorry drivers and 5,500 poultry workers in a bid to limit disruption in the build up to Christmas.