Frustrated drivers in south west London have spoken out over the current fuel crisis.

Drivers waiting for fuel in Wandsworth blamed the Government, the media and each other for the chaos at the pumps.

John Lunn, 46, a carpenter from Wrotham in Kent, said the public had not “learned our lessons” from the Covid-19 panic-buying crisis.

“I was expecting the worst, we drove past at least 10 garages on the way here,” he told the PA news agency, speaking in a queue at a petrol station in Wandsworth.

“It’s utter madness really, I’m not being funny, but we didn’t learn our lessons from toilet rolls and pasta.

“After everything that’s gone on with buying food and not necessarily needing it, we’re now doing it with fuel.

“They mention there could be a shortage on the news and people have gone mad. If they hadn’t mentioned it, people would have gone about their day filling up as normal, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Germit Mudhar, 61, a builder who requires a van for work, said the Government had been “running around like headless chickens” in response to public anxiety over fuel shortages.

“It’s ridiculous. The Government has messed it up, they never think about things seriously,” he told the PA news agency.

“First with food shortages and food shops… nobody seems to have a clue.

“They’re a bunch of idiots, they couldn’t foresee this and they’re running round like headless chickens.

“It’s one thing after another, they say they’ll do this and they’ll do that.”

Asked about public over-reaction to alleged fuel shortages, he added: “It’s not so much the panic buying, it’s not just that, the Government has known about the driver shortage for months and months and months.”