THE AA is urging Basingstoke residents to “calm down” and “stick to their normal buying habits” as HGV driver shortages spark queuing at many of the town’s petrol stations.

There are currently queues across Basingstoke petrol stations as motorists have been heading to the pumps amid driver shortages.

It comes after BP said it is reducing petrol and diesel deliveries to its own forecourts due to HGV driver shortages, and has had to shut some of its filling stations including the one at Grove Road, Viables.

However, drivers are being urged by the government to “buy fuel as normal”, after the lorry driver shortage hit supplies.

A government spokeswoman said: “There is no shortage of fuel in the UK, and people should continue to buy fuel as normal."

Now, Basingstoke-based British motoring organisation, the AA, has also stressed the importance of not panic-buying.

AA spokesperson, Jack Cousens, told the Gazette: “Essentially, we are saying can everyone please calm down.

“It’s come at a time when many people tend to buy their fuel on a Friday and Saturday, both because that’s when many people do their weekly shop, but also because they are preparing their cars for weekend leisure trips.”

He added: “If people could stick to their normal buying habits, we shouldn’t have a problem. This is a supply chain issue, not a fuel shortage.”

In a statement responding to concerns about fuel supply, Edmund King, the AA’s president said: “There is no shortage of fuel and thousands of forecourts are operating normally with just a few suffering temporary supply chain problems.

“Fridays and the weekend always tend to be busier on forecourts as drivers either combine filling up with shopping runs, prepare for weekend trips or refuel for the start of the new working week.

“Drivers should not fill up outside their normal routines because, even if the occasional petrol station is temporarily closed, others just down the road will be open.”

He added: “It is now clear that there have been occasional delays over recent weeks that have been managed with hardly anyone noticing. This was a manageable problem.

“Meanwhile road fuel demand is down to 92 per cent of pre-pandemic levels according to monitoring by the Government.

“Also, the average pump price of petrol has risen half a penny in the past two days when it should be 2.5p lower after cheaper E10 (10 per cent ethanol) became the standard petrol on forecourts on 1 September.”