Harrow Council fears critical services could be affected if fuel shortages and panic buying continues. 

Council leader Graham Henson said services are currently running as normal but warned this could change if the situation worsens. 

He urged residents to act responsibly to ensure key workers – including emergency services – can access the fuel and roads they need to carry out their jobs. 

Cllr Henson said: “We’ve been keeping a close eye on the developing situation and took pre-emptive steps last week to manage our fuel resources to ensure the continuity of essential council services.

“At the moment there is no impact on our services but as the week goes on, and if the shortage continues, our resources will come under more pressure.

“We are looking at ways to manage this to ensure we don’t have to temporarily suspend some services, but if the situation continues it is something we may need to implement for a short period.”

The council leader advised people to return to their normal filling routine and “avoid panic buying” to help alleviate the problems. 

He added: “This will help ensure others, including key and emergency workers, can also access fuel.

“Please don’t block roads or pavements to join queues to buy petrol or diesel as you could stop emergency services from responding to incidents, which poses a serious risk to public health and safety.”

Fuel distribution issues across the country has led to huge queues forming at many petrol stations.

A plea from the government not to panic buy had the opposite effect.

Some stations have been forced to close after running out of fuel completely, while many others have reported a complete lack of at least one type of fuel – often petrol.

A HGV driver shortage has also been blamed for the issue. The army could be drafted in to help by the government.