Retailers have warned that significant disruption to Christmas preparations will be "inevitable" unless the Government finds a solution to the HGV driver shortage in the next 10 days.
Britain’s economy is struggling due to a shortage of HGV drivers, resulting in supply chain issues across a range of sectors.
The fuel sector has become the latest to be hit, with BP being forced to shut a “handful” of their forecourts.
Across Merseyside today a number of other garages have also been forced to close while awaiting fuel deliveries such as Shell Garage on Crosby Road North in Waterloo and Sainsburys in Knotty Ash.
Drivers were also seen today queueing at various garages across the city and across the country, despite being urged not to 'panic buy' by the government amid the rising fears of 'fuel shortages'.
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Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said: "HGV drivers are the glue which holds our supply chains together.
"Without them, we are unable to move goods from farms to warehouses to shops.
"Currently, the UK faces a shortfall of around 90,000 HGV drivers and it is consumers who ultimately suffer the consequences.
"Unless a solution can be found in the next 10 days, it is inevitable that we will see significant disruption in the run-up to Christmas."
Empty shelves at a number of supermarkets are becoming an increasingly frequent sight, with warnings over it impacting the Christmas period becoming more regular.
This is the second time in one week that a supply crisis has resulted in warnings over their impact on Christmas, as a lack of CO2 resulted in fears for the festive period.
The Government had to strike a deal with US firm CF Fertilisers, who create CO2 as a by-product, to prevent a lack of meat and other products from making it onto supermarket shelves.
Whilst the amount the Government has given to the firm has not been confirmed, it is believed that tens of millions of pounds of taxpayers money has been used to get CO2 production running again.
