LONDON (AP) – Troops are to be deployed from Monday to prevent ongoing fuel shortages at British petrol stations in Great Britain.
Government Headquarters Downing Street announced on Saturday it was to provide “temporary” aid to nearly 200 members of the armed forces, including 100 truck drivers. Also, the government expanded its offers to foreign truck drivers. A maximum of 300 drivers from abroad must obtain immediate work visas, which must be valid until March. Until now, the government had tried to lure applicants from overseas to the island with temporary visas until Christmas.
There have been extreme bottlenecks at several petrol stations in Great Britain for more than a week. Many are closed. Long lines form in the rest. It is being told that the situation has improved in some parts of the country. According to a large petrol station association, this does not apply to London and the South-East. Brian Maderson, the head of the BBC’s Petrol Retailers Association, said on Saturday the situation had improved in parts of Scotland, the north of England and the Midlands, while in the south it was “at its worst”.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211002-99-451464 / 2
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