There are no signs of improvement in petrol supplies at independent petrol stations, the head of the Petrol Retailer Association says.
The PRA, which represents independent fuel retailers, said the surge in demand “appears to be continuing,” its chairman told BBC.
The PRA represents 5,500 of the UK’s 8,300 stations.
“Trying to calm this down appears to be a monumental task at the moment,” said PRA chairman Brian Madderson.
He added: “The surge in demand appears to be continuing. There’s been no easing off of the pressure from drivers wanting to refuel whenever they can, wherever they can.”
Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has suggested that low-level offenders who have been given community sentences could be used to tackle the UK’s lack of HGV drivers.
“We’ve been getting prisoners and offenders to do volunteering and unpaid work,” Mr Raab told The Spectator, in comments carried by The Times.
“Why not, if there are shortages, encourage them to do paid work where there’s a benefit for the economy, benefit for society?
“If you give people skin in the game, give them something to lose, if you give them some hope, they’re much less likely to reoffend.”
