Queues form as motorists rush to get fuel in Watford and Bushey

Pictures taken today (Friday), show petrol stations at the Dome Roundabout in Garston and in Bushey Heath have been affected by many people wanting petrol.

Traffic marshalls have also been pictured directing traffic at some petrol stations to try and cope with the number of motorists.

In Bushey Heath, pictures show multiple drivers waiting to get petrol at the Esso garage by the Tesco Express in High Road.

At the Dome Roundabout, pictures show there are multiple motorists queuing to get petrol at the Asda filling station, while queues are spilling back onto the A41 and roundabout at motorists wait to get fuel at the Shell Garage.

Shell has closed the St Albans Road exit and entrance to try and manage the number of vehicles.

Meanwhile, as of 2.45pm the Sainsbury’s filling station by the Dome Roundabout was closed due to a “fuel delivery”.

Motorists were driving towards the forecourt but were greeted by a sign saying it was temporarily closed.

According to the sign, the forecourt was set to reopen "within the hour".

Reports on social media have said a fuel tanker has since arrived at the Sainsbury's forecourt.

There are similar scenes at petrol stations across our area and the rest of the country, with drivers at supermarkets or just passing through beeping their horns after getting frustrated at being held up in petrol station queues.

A sign outside the Sainsbury's petrol station forecourt by the Dome Roundabout in Garston

Motorists have been reassured by the Government and motoring experts there is no shortage of fuel at UK forecourts as industry leaders urge drivers not to refuel outside of their normal times.

The rush was triggered by news that a small number of BP and Tesco petrol stations had been forced to close as a shortage of HGV drivers meant they could not be restocked in time.

Petrol station at Sainsbury's by the Dome Roundabout temporarily closed on Friday afternoon

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has tried to dissuade drivers from panic buying petrol, saying that motorists should “carry on as normal”.

“The advice would be to carry on as normal, and that is what BP is saying as well,” he told Sky News.

Senior ministers were understood to be meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss possible solutions to the shortage of HGV drivers.

A woman in a fluorescent jacket trying to direct traffic at the Esso forecourt in Bushey Heath

On Friday, BP said that around 20 of its 1,200 petrol forecourts were closed due to a lack of available fuel, with between 50 and 100 sites affected by the loss of at least one grade of fuel.

A “small number” of Tesco refilling stations have also been impacted, said Esso owner ExxonMobil, which runs the sites.

A traffic marshal is preventing the entire Asda forecourt in Watford from being clogged up with vehicles

Edmund King, president of breakdown and recovery service the AA, said that "there is no shortage of fuel and thousands of forecourts are operating normally with just a few suffering temporary supply chain problems".

He added: "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.

"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."