ANDOVER’S petrol stations are busier than normal today following news that HGV shortages have led to supply chain issues at some forecourts.

It comes after BP said it is reducing petrol and diesel deliveries to its own forecourts due to HGV driver shortages.

BP said a “handful” of its filling stations are closed due to a lack of fuel available, while Esso owner ExxonMobil also said a “small number” of its Tesco Alliance petrol forecourts have been impacted.

Drivers in Andover have been heading out to fill up today, with queues at Tesco and staff out to direct people to available pumps.

BP at Enham Arch roundabout remains open, but is extremely busy, as is Shell on Weyhill Road, and Esso on Charlton Road where traffic is, at times, backing up onto the road.

However, the queues are less severe than in nearby Basingstoke, where drivers have flocked to all of the town's stations, and BP at Grove Road, Viables, has closed.

But 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."

This was echoed by British motoring organisation, the AA. 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.”