‘Frenzied’ panic buying has led to a number of petrol stations running out of fuel.

The Government has announced a temporary visa scheme that will see 5,000 foreign HGV drivers and 5,500 poultry workers allowed into the UK on three-month contracts up to Christmas Eve in an attempt to keep supermarket shelves stocked with turkeys and tackle fuel delivery difficulties.

But the British Retail Consortium warned the decision to relax immigration rules to fix supply chain issues was “too little, too late” for the festive season.

In Blackburn some petrol stations were reporting no fuel at all today (Sunday 26 September). Others had petrol on sale but no diesel.

One petrol station worker we spoke to today said they ran out of fuel on Saturday, “It was been very busy. We ran out of diesel first and then yesterday there was only petrol left. There is only the premium grade left now.

“We are expecting a delivery.”

The Texaco Petrol station on Preston New Road close to Crosshill road had was less busy than yesterday but had been refuelled over the weekend. It had no queues and motorists were calmly filling up their cars having done the decent thing and stayed home over the past 24 hours.

One driver we spoke to said he was relieved to see petrol still available despite the rush. The diesel pumps were unavailable for use.

It was same story across town on Whalley Range. On King Street, the garage had no petrol or diesel.

Lancashire Telegraph:

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

Chairman Brian Madderson told the BBC the shortages were down to “panic buying, pure and simple” as he hit out at whoever leaked BP’s initial supply concerns to the media following a meeting with Government earlier this month.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps appeared to suggest the leak had come from industry body the Road Haulage Association, a charge senior figures at the organisation have denied.

Mr Madderson said it was the leak that sparked the “frenzied buying” at the pumps over the past days, adding: “Whoever leaked it to a main broadcaster must have known the chaos that would ensue as soon as it hit newspapers, and that’s what we’ve had.”