UK armed forces to deliver petrol to garages across country from Monday

UK armed forces to deliver petrol to garages across country from Monday
October 2, 2021, 12:41 am

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The UK government says, armed forces personnel will begin delivering petrol to garages across the UK from Monday.

According to the BBC, almost 200 servicemen and women, 100 of them drivers, will provide "temporary" support to ease pressure on stations.

The BBC said, ministers have also announced that up to 300 overseas fuel tanker drivers will be able to work in the UK immediately until the end of March.

Military personnel are currently training at haulier sites and will be on the road delivering fuel supplies across the country to "help fuel stocks further improve" from Monday, the government said.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said personnel would be seen working alongside drivers this weekend following training this week.

In addition to the 300 fuel tanker drivers being allowed to work temporarily in the UK, temporary visas are also being offered to 4,700 food haulage drivers who are able to arrive from late October and leave by 28 February 2022.

According to the BBC, there have been long queues at petrol stations this week after a shortage of drivers disrupted fuel deliveries.

Ministers - who have maintained there is enough fuel if people buy at their normal rates - say the situation at petrol station forecourts is improving, with more fuel now being delivered than sold.

But they acknowledge some parts of the country are worse affected than others.

On Friday, the RAC motoring group also said the disruption in deliveries was continuing to ease, though many areas were still experiencing supply issues.

It said, smaller fuel stations were facing major supply problems as drivers filled up for the weekend.

The Petrol Retailers Association, which represents nearly 5,500 of the UK's 8,300 petrol stations, said on Friday there had been little change for its members who are independent fuel retailers.

Its survey of 1,100 sites across the UK found that 26% had neither petrol nor diesel in stock, down slightly from 27% on Thursday.

Source: BBC

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