Petrol stations across Britain have run dry over the Christmas holidays after the massive explosion at the Buncefield oil terminal near Hemel Hampstead earlier this month hit supplies.

Total, one of the co-owners of the Buncefield plant, confirmed to Times Online that it has been struck by "a short-term supply issue" which had affected petrol stations mainly in the South East. The company said that "less than 100 forecourts" had been hit after it was forced to re-organise deliveries following the Buncefield blast.

Texaco, which also holds a stake in the Buncefield facility, said that several of its garages had also run out of fuel.

However, it added that the "vast majority" of those sites would receive deliveries "within hours". A spokesman for the company urged drivers to purchase fuel as they would normally and not to be drawn into panic buying. A Total spokesman also said it was "important to emphasise" that fuel was available.

Large parts of the Buncefield plant were destroyed in the biggest explosion of its kind in peacetime Europe on December 11. Texaco confirmed that the damage to the depot – the UK’s fifth-largest oil storage facility – "had not helped" its efforts to keep forecourts supplied as demand for fuel rocketed during this week’s cold snap.

A spokesman for Shell today confirmed that there have been shortages at some of its stations in south-east England and in the Midlands and that they were connected to Buncefield. "We are working hard to get fuel to those stations which have run out," he said.

The situation was stoked by high demand in the run-up to Christmas, traditionally a busy period at the pumps. Deliveries were also cut back on Christmas and Boxing day. The week after Christmas is usually a quiet period which companies plan to use to replenish supplies.

However, Rod Prowse, a spokesman for the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers, said similar shortages were likely to recur. "Buncefield was a very, very major supply source of fuel for the whole of South East England," he said.

"When you have to fall back on alternatives, they are never quite as good. I’m sure in the months ahead there will be recurring problems."

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