LONDON, England: After a fourth day of long lines and closures at gas stations caused by panic buying, the British Army has been put on standby to help ease fuel supply problems affecting the UK, with up to 150 military tanker drivers preparing to deliver petrol.

Despite fuel supplies being plentiful at refineries, fears of driver shortages affecting supplies at stations caused a surge in demand.

However, transport secretary Grant Shapps said there were signs that the situation was slowly returning to normal, stating, “Once we all return to our normal buying habits, the quicker we get back to normality.”

Meanwhile, the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), which represents nearly 5,500 of the UK’s 8,000 stations, noted that some 37 percent of its stations had run out of fuel, a decline from 75 percent on Sunday.

The current shortage of some 100,000 truck drivers has affected many other industries, but the government stressed the panic buying for fuel led to the long lines at gas stations and caused some to run out of supplies.

There are also growing calls for key workers, such as health and social care staff, to have priority access to available fuel to ensure they can get to work. London doctor Daniyal Ahsan told the BBC he was unable to get fuel on Monday, despite going to 17 gas stations.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the move to place the Army on standby was a “sensible, precautionary step.”

Huw Merriman, a Conservative MP and chairman of the Transport Select Commottee, told BBC Radio 4 that the Army would be used as a “last resort” if the situation does not stabilize quickly, adding, “For too long, working conditions have been poor, and those that are willing to tolerate it have been from abroad.”

The opposition Labour Party said the fuel crisis was “an admission of failure,” and deploying the Army was “a sticking plaster,” while major fuel companies, including BP and Shell, stressed that fuel supplies remain unaffected.

Also, Unison, the UK’s largest trade union, urged ministers to “designate fuel stations for the sole use of key workers.”

Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, an aging workforce and other factors have all contributed to the shortage of truck drivers in the UK, but some EU countries, including Germany and Poland, are also experiencing driver shortages.