Devon councils have not experienced issues with fuel supplies amid petrol panic

Councils in Devon say they haven't experienced issues with fuel supplies and that services are operating as normal.

The country has been hit by days of queues at petrol stations and some forecourts running out of fuel amid a nationwide panic-buying frenzy.

The crisis began after fears a lorry driver shortage would hit supplies, triggering a surge in demand.

However, on Wednesday, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng insisted the situation was "stabilising" while members of the fuel industry said there were "early signs that the crisis at pumps is ending," with fewer petrol stations out of fuel.

Councils in Devon, which require large amounts of fuel to run service vehicles including bin lorries, have not reported any problems so far.

A spokesperson for Devon County Council said: "We're not experiencing the same significant challenges that other parts of the country are seeing, but the multi-agency partners of the Local Resilience Forum are watching the situation carefully and would encourage the public to continue to fuel their cars and vehicles as normal."

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the public to "just go about their business in the normal way," adding: "We now are starting to see the situation improve, we're hearing from industry that supply is coming back onto the forecourt in the normal way."

Local emergency services, including the police and fire service, have also called for the public to behave sensibly and not to buy petrol unless needed.