Cops forced to jump queue for vital fuel as ambulance CRASHES into traffic waiting for petrol while rushing to emergency

COPS have been forced to jump a queue in order to get vital fuel and an ambulance has crashed into traffic waiting for petrol while rushing to an emergency.

It comes as thousands of petrol stations ran dry amid “frenzied” panic buying.

Emergency services have been caught up in the chaos at petrol pumps as panic buyers rush to buy fuel amid a shortage caused by a lack of lorry drivers.

Police had to jump ahead of queues at a petrol station in Hackney, East London, to avoid running out of petrol.

There is a shortage of 100,000 HGV drivers in the UK, according to the Road Haulage Association, with the drain impacting fuel supplies.

Meanwhile, video showed an ambulance trying to make its way through a line of cars waiting for petrol at a Shell station in Bromley, Greater London.

 It comes as…

• Petrol supplies have been plundered with industry figures revealing 85% of stations have run out of fuel
• Soldiers could be called in to help deliver fuel tankers as the PM mulls calling in the army
• Brawls have broken out across forecourts – including dramatic scenes between moped drivers
• Competition laws have been suspended in an attempt to curb panic buying
• The UK’s second-biggest oil refinery faces collapse over a £223million VAT payment
• Grant Shapps blamed hauliers for the chaotic scenes
• A list of petrol stations with fuel can be seen here

With its sirens blaring, the ambulance driver manages to slowly move the vehicle through the queue.

However, as the ambulance driver tries to squeeze it past the queue the vehicle hits the back of one of the cars.

The paramedic then had to stop and swap details with the other driver before rushing to the emergency.

It comes after a brawl erupted at an Esso fuel station, said to be between two dads and their sons, amid petrol shortage fears.

The four men traded blows during a shocking fight in the forecourt of the petrol station in Chichester, West Sussex, on Friday night.

The president of the AA Edmund King assured Brits there is “plenty of fuel at the source” and no need to panic buy, with a lack of lorry drivers being blamed for disruption to fuel supplies.

🔵 Read our petrol crisis live blog for live updates on the crisis

But today, 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”.

Meanwhile, two groups of men were seen “screaming” at each other before one group hurled stones as the other fled in a van at a Shell garage in Portsmouth,

Another driver told : “I witnessed a tussle on the forecourt between two groups of men, screaming and shouting at each other.

‘MADNESS’

“One group got into their van and drove off out the city as the other group gave chase and hurled stones at the retreating van. Madness!”

In a bid to ease the crisis, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has approved temporary visas for  5,000 overseas HGV drivers to help ease the crisis.

But today he admitted that the lorry driver shortage could last “years” despite government plans to train 4,000 more lorry drivers.

And the government were warned there would be bare shelves in shops this Christmas despite their plan.

CHRISTMAS FEARS

Mr Shapps today hit out at “one of the road haulage associations” for sparking a “manufactured” crisis by leaking details about HGV driver shortages at fuel firms.

He appeared to suggest the leak came from the Road Haulage Association, which senior figures there deny.

Urging Brits to “be sensible”, Mr Shapps told Sky News: “If people carry on as they normally would and fill up their cars as they normally would, then you won’t have queues and you won’t have shortages at the pump either.

“It’s not like we don’t have fuel in the country. We do need to just ensure people are filling up when they need to fill up, rather than thinking I’d better go and fill up now just in case I need it next week or the week after.”

I think it’s inevitable now, just through the shortage of drivers, that we won’t be able to get all the products on to the shelves that we would have liked to

Andrew Opie, British Retail Consportium

But the British Retail Consortium warned relaxing immigration rules to fix the shortage was “too little, too late” for Christmas.

Director of food and sustainability policy Andrew Opie told the BBC: “I think it’s inevitable now, just through the shortage of drivers, that we won’t be able to get all the products on to the shelves that we would have liked to.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for visas to fill all 100,000 vacancies in the haulage industry.

Long queues were reported again at petrol stations around the country today.

It was reported over the weekend that less than 100 of the  8,350 fuel stations in the UK were shut — about one per cent.

Drivers are being hit with a £30 limit on fuel as a result of the panic buying across the counry.

Police were forced to marshal motorists after they raced to forecourts to fill their tanks up.

Selfish drivers have filled up jerry cans with fuel after queuing from the early hours of this morning.

Transporting petrol around in a car boot  also has the potential to turn your vehicle into a fireball, experts warned.

A Health and Safety Executive spokesman said: “It is a highly flammable liquid and can give off vapour which can easily be set on fire and when not handled safely has the potential to cause a serious fire and explosion.”

Simon Williams, RAC fuel spokesman, added: “If you are filling up six cans, you are potentially stopping the police, ambulance service and organisations such as ourselves who need to get to people in emergencies.”

The government has urged drivers to “carry on as normal” amid chaotic scenes.

And hundreds of petrol stations are now planning to impose a £30 fuel cap per driver to ensure everyone has a “fair chance to refuel” after an “unprecedented” scramble for fuel from drivers.

The EG Group, which has 341 petrol stations in the UK, confirmed the emergency services and lorry drivers would not be affected.