Firefighters plead with petrol queuers to stop blocking station entrance
Emergency workers at a Shropshire fire station have appealed to drivers not to block their entrance as they queue for fuel.
Market Drayton Fire Station is next door to Morrisons and around the corner from Shell, meaning drivers have been queueing along the road outside the station as they wait to fill up.
Firefighters urged drivers to leave access to the station on Maer Lane clear and avoid using the yard to turn cars around.
Yellow zig zags are painted on the road outside the station, along with the words 'keep clear' and 'no turning'.
In a Facebook post, crews wrote: "The increase in motorists trying to access fuel stations is leading to large queues in many areas.
"Unfortunately our station is next door to one of the two fuel stations in town. Please can we ask that motorists show some common sense and leave the front of the station clear, and that you do not use it for turning around on.
"The personnel at Market Drayton are on-call firefighters which means that they respond to the station from their homes or places of work on receipt of an emergency call.
"The queues have an impact on how quickly the personnel can respond to the station and the fire appliances turn out.
"Please also bear in mind that if you panic buy the resulting shortages have an impact on the emergency services and essential workers, who all need fuel to respond to emergencies and their places of work. Thank you."
Firefighters also spoke out to encourage people to avoid panic buying and exacerbating the demand for fuel.
It came as firefighters in Telford were called on to help on Saturday when a driver overfilled their car with petrol at Asda's petrol station.
Meanwhile Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has blamed a haulage group for the petrol queues, suggesting that leaked comments from BP bosses about supply concerns had led to panic buying.
BP stations, including in Shrewsbury and Newport, have run out of fuel in recent days as supply difficulties combined with the huge demand.
Many other sites have rationed supplies as drivers flock to forecourts fearful of being unable to fill up.
