Watford’s Mayor is calling for essential workers to have petrol stations designated to them as motorists continue to rush for petrol.

Peter Taylor says he has been in contact with Hertfordshire County Council over the proposal after key workers got in touch to say they are struggling to get fuel.

Drivers have been flocking to filling stations nationally after concerns from BP were leaked that the shortage of lorry drivers could impact upon its ability to keep up with fuel deliveries.

Long queues have been filling at forecourts since Friday which has been causing lengthy delays.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Mr Taylor urged people to “only get fuel if you need it”.

He said: “I have been contacted by several key workers who are struggling to get fuel for their jobs. I have raised this with @hertscc and asked them to consider designating some petrol stations for them.

“I would encourage everyone to be considerate of others & only get fuel if you need it.”

Hertfordfshire County Council has been approached for comment over the proposal.

Ministers have also been facing calls to give priority access to fuel supplies to healthcare staff and other essential workers.

Dr David Wrigley, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association, warned essential services could be hit if staff were unable to get to work because they could not fill up.

“We can’t be waiting two or three hours in a queue for fuel when we have patients to see,” he told Times Radio.

“It’s a critical situation where we’re unsure we’ll have the fuel to do NHS and social care work, so a plan does need to be in place.”

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Meanwhile, emergency services in Hertfordshire have said that their services remain unaffected.

Hertfordshire Constabulary told the Watford Observer that there have been "no change to our services".

A spokesperson said: "Officers have assisted with the management of traffic on roads where queuing for petrol stations has caused an obstruction and/or safety concerns.

"We are continuing to monitor the situation and would urge motorists to behave in a responsible and safe manner.

"There is no need to panic buy and if you do need to purchase fuel please do not cause an obstruction to other road users."

Meanwhile, Hertfordshire County Council issued a statement on Sunday (September 26) to explain that their services - including the fire and rescue - remain unaffected.

A statement read: "We understand that some residents will have concerns about the impact that the current fuel supply issues may be having on our services and we wanted to provide an update.

"Currently all our services, including our Fire and Rescue Service, are able to operate as normal.

"We have been engaging with school transport providers and understand that the majority will be operating as normal in the morning, however there may still be some minimal localised impact and transport providers will be communicating with affected service users directly."