'I can't take my daughter to school': Mother shares toll of fuel fiasco on her family
28 September 2021, 16:34
Caller holed up at home due to fuel panic-buyers
This caller tells LBC that her daughter has to be homeschooled until the fuel panic-buying saga ends, as she keeps her remaining diesel for an emergency trip.
LBC listeners have shared the impact the fuel panic-buying crisis has had on their lives throughout the week, as desperate motorists go to extreme lengths to fill their tanks.
"I'm not able to bring my daughter to school tomorrow", caller Sandra told Eddie Mair. "I haven't got enough petrol."
The caller explained that the journey to her daughter's school is a 60 mile round trip and as such she will be homeschooled until the panic-buying ends.
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A shortage of HGV drivers in the UK has meant that supply chains in the country have been hit hard. The government have scrambled to address the issue by offering visas to foreign drivers and even proposing to bring drivers out of retirement.
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Although there are ample fuel stocks in the country, a lack of lorry drivers meant that some service stations were left without fuel last week.
Service station owner says it'll take weeks to recover from panic buy
Eddie wondered how the caller has tried to source fuel.
Read more: James O'Brien wonders why Brits aren't outraged by fuel panic-buyers
She explained that some stations have petrol but her car is diesel. At the stations that do have diesel, she explained that the pumps are reserved for emergency workers, which are rationed to £20 to £30 worth of fuel.
Military forces have been prepared to plug the gaps in supply chains, with the army being tasked with driving HGVs to Britain's forecourts from refineries.
"I'm going to save enough petrol for a family shop or an emergency visit to A&E, if we needed it." Sandra told LBC.
Read more: Fuel crisis: Panic buying leaves up to 90% of petrol pumps dry in major British cities
"I think the government should have sorted this out and got the army to deliver it," she explained, expressing her anger at the slow response.
"tThis panic-buying obviously was ridiculous."
Read more: 'Stop being stupid!' NHS workers urge Brits to stop panic-buying fuel
Fight breaks out at fuel pumps as petrol stations run dry
LBC reported horrendous scenes from service stations across the country as tensions rose while stocks dwindled.
Read more: ‘Knife’ pulled and brawls break out at pumps as fuel queues show no sign of letting up
"I thought, 'I'm not gonna do that, I've got some petrol, I'll wait'." The caller explained. "[The queue for the service station] was all the way down the road, I couldn't drive anywhere".
Addressing the panic-buyers, the caller told Eddie "I think people are behaving terribly" and called for calm.
"What's your daughter going to do tomorrow?" Eddie wondered.
"She'll be doing books at home, and when we get petrol she'll go back to school", the caller concluded.
