'It's ridiculous' - Weymouth business left unable to open due to fuel shortage

Scott Sanders, aged 41, has served hot food and drinks to customers out of Munch Box, based on Lynch Lane in Weymouth, for two-and-a-half years.

But Mr Sanders was unable to open his business yesterday due to being short of fuel, which powers the unit's generator and in turn, its fridge, hot water, fryer and other key equipment.

Weymouth and wider Dorset has again experienced congestion at fuel forecourts as people rush to fill their cars amid fears of a shortage caused by delivery delays due to a lack of HGV drivers. Some garages have run out of fuel due to the scramble by drivers to fill their tanks.

Mr Sanders said: “I am very frustrated. I have lost about £200 in potential earnings as a result.

Scott Sanders, of Munch Box in Weymouth, has been unable to open his business on Monday due to fuel shortage. Picture: Scott Sanders

“Being a small business, a lot of my trade is local. A lot of my customers are daily and I don’t like letting people down.

“Some people only come for so long and if they aren’t open, they will find somewhere else.

“I need petrol to run. I will be back open but I will not know how long I can open for.”

Mr Sanders explained he has fuel to power his generator for approximately two days of trade, but may have to be forced to conserve energy by turning off some equipment.

He added: “I hope that on Thursday I will be able to get petrol and I will then get enough to get some more. I hope things will have calmed down by then.

“I may have to sacrifice bits to save fuel and electricity until then. But I cannot turn off the hot water as I cannot open for food hygiene reasons.”

The hot food he has on offer at Munch Box

With his girlfriend, he has already spent the weekend looking for petrol stations across Weymouth, Dorchester and Portland to fill his fuel cannisters, but has either experienced long queues at stations or a lack of fuel.

When asked for his reaction to the mass buying of fuel, a clearly frustrated Mr Sanders said: “It’s ridiculous the whole situation.

“I just want people to realise that it's the same when people feared loo rolls would run out (during March 2020) and it’s the exact same thing with fuel – there is plenty of fuel to go around.

“I hope they realise that how silly and ridiculous they have been. I hope people sort themselves out and things just calm down.

“I have seen some people had been in the queues at stations for nearly an hour and still had their engines running.”

Munch Box was aiming to reopen to customers today, but will keep its customers updated on its Facebook page.

Emergency services and council bosses have urged people to behave sensibly and not panic buy fuel.

Councillor Ray Bryan, Dorset Council Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said: "There is currently no fuel shortage in Dorset. I would urge all motorists to not panic buy fuel; only buy what you need when you need it and to be considerate of others."

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