Worries over petrol panic buying across the UK led to a weekend spike in sales of jerry cans, according to Halfords.
The retailer saw the phrase ‘jerry can’ become the fourth highest search term on its website, with online interest in the products up 1,136 per cent compared to the week before.
And it says sales were 17 times higher than the previous weekend, as selfish drivers rushed to stockpile fuel after concerns about the HGV driver shortage spilled into queues outside filling stations over the last four days.
And the massive spike in sales, despite assurances there is no shortage of petrol or diesel at refineries, has led to warning that some drivers might be inadvertently breaking rules by transporting excess fuel in their cars or storing too much at home.
Is a jerry can shortage next? Halfords says seen sales of jerry cans surge over the weekend while some online stockers have sold out of them entirely during petrol panic buying across the UK
While it is completely legal to fill jerry cans with petrol or diesel at fuel stations – although potentially anti-social to take more than you need when some drivers are struggling to fill up – there are strict rules about how much can be kept at your private property.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, you can only legally store up to 30 litres of petrol at your home or non-workplace premises without informing the correct authorities.
The AA recommends people should not consider transporting excess fuel in their vehicles, or contemplate storing it at home.
For storage at your house – either in a shed or garage – the rules dictate that just 20 litres of petrol can be stored in a metal jerry can and no more than 10 litres in plastic alternative containers, which traditionally hold just five litres each.
Any more than this and it becomes a legal requirement to notify your local Petroleum Enforcement Authority (PEA) in writing, giving your name and address of storage location, guidelines dictate.
Drivers are also only allowed to only carry two suitable containers in a car at any given time and it must be in the boot, not the vehicle’s cabin.
They must also be clearly marked with the words ‘petrol’ and ‘highly flammable’, be ‘robust and not liable to break under the normal conditions of use’ and also prevent the escape of petrol vapour.
If pulled over by the police and a fuel container is deemed to not be in good condition, officers can class it as a ‘dangerous load’ or ‘may be hazardous’.
As well as Halfords reporting a spike in jerry can sales in recent days, online retailer Wholesale Clearance UK says it has sold its entire stock over the weekend as drivers looked to stockpile fuel for themselves.
‘Before the crisis, our stock of jerry cans sold at a steady pace, but over the weekend, we sold out in record time,’ says CEO, Karl Baxter.
‘On Friday, I had 5,000 jerry cans being sold for £3.50 each, which we sold in job lots of 12 – we’re now completely sold out!
‘Bear in mind, these items had been listed for months without much interest.’
Baxter now warns there could be a shortage of jerry cans as well as fuel, with his stocks running dry.
‘Even if we wanted to, we would not be able to source further supply of jerry cans until at least three months. It is likely that this could be creating a jerry can shortage, too,’ he explained.
‘After selling out, we currently have no further plans to source and supply jerry cans until the situation regarding petrol has returned to normal to discourage panic buying.’
A joint statement published this afternoon by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy on behalf of the fuel industry – including BP, Shell, Esso – said: ‘There is plenty of fuel at UK refineries and terminals, and as an industry we are working closely with the government to help ensure fuel is available to be delivered to stations across the country.
‘As many cars are now holding more fuel than usual, we expect that demand will return to its normal levels in the coming days, easing pressures on fuel station forecourts. We would encourage everyone to buy fuel as they usually would.
‘We remain enormously grateful to all forecourt staff and HGV drivers for working tirelessly to maintain supplies during this time.’
Despite this attempt to stave off panic buying at the pumps, the rush also sparked a rise in bike orders, says Halfords.
It claims to have recorded a 23 per cent surge in bicycle sales compared to the previous weekend.
Electric e-bike sales were even higher, jumping up by 106 per cent in the same period.
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