Panic buying sees pumps running dry
4:00pm Monday 30th January 2012 in
PANIC buying after an oil refinery went into administration caused garages in Tiptree and West Mersea to run out of diesel.
Tankers were prevented from leaving the Coryton oil refinery in Stanford-le-Hope, last Tuesday, after oil bosses suspended shares. It prompted a panic at the pumps.
Tom Karadzic, sales assistant at the Shell garage in Maypole Road, Tiptree, said they had run out of diesel and unleaded petrol completely and stocks were still dry on Friday.
He said: “It mucks us up because we would have had enough fuel to last, but because everyone decided to come in and buy it, we have run out.”
The garage only had V-Power diesel and petrol available, which is more expensive.
Mr Karadzic said the garage usually had a delivery from Coryton every other day, but had not had one for nearly a week.
A delivery was expected on Saturday, but it was not known where from.
Other garages have reported they would normally have fuel delivered from Coryton, but it had instead come from Kent.
Mersea Island’s only garage, Shell, in Kingsland Road, was also completely out of diesel on Friday.
Phillip Underwood, partner of the garage, said the panic there started on Wednesday He said: “It is always the same when someone announces it on television to say not to panic. People panic and it just snowballs and makes it worse.”
The diesel had run out there by Wednesday night and unleaded petrol was running low.
Mr Underwood was due to get a delivery on Friday afternoon but did not know where it would come from.
West Mersea’s mayor John May said some islanders had become stranded as a result.
He said: “We have many elderly people who don’t leave the island and if they can’t get petrol here then they can’t get it anywhere.”
A worker at the Shell garage in Coggeshall Road, Marks Tey, said: “We ran out for a day, on Thursday, but we have managed to secure a delivery today.”
An employee at Ardleigh South Services in Harwich Road, Colchester, said: “We are fully stocked now but people panic-bought and ran us a bit low.”
Coryton supplies 20 per cent of fuel in London and the south east. Deliveries resumed on Thursday.