UK fuel shortage: Man on horse taunts drivers queuing for petrol

No petrol, no worries. Photo / 123RF

A British man has gone viral after taking advantage of the UK's fuel crisis to mock drivers queuing for petrol.

Gus Dolphin, 26, mounted his trusty steed in genteel Thames Ditton in Surrey, just outside the London border.

As he trotted past motorists waiting to fuel up at the Shell station he chanted: "Queuing for petrol, but I'm on a horse. I don't need petrol, 'cause he runs on carrots."

Dolphin told the MyLondon news site that the stunt was a dare among friends after completing a similar prank on bicycle during a night out.

"My friend posted the first video on Twitter as a joke and it went semi-viral," Dolphin said. "It had a few million plays on different platforms.

"Then I joked about doing it on a horse and all my friends said, 'how will you find a horse?'

"It was challenge accepted," Dolphin explained. "Horse called Ranger found, ridden and a viral song has been born."

The UK has been hit by a wave of panic buying of fuel that has sparked massive queues and high tensions, after a shortage of truck drivers let to widespread delays in the transportation of petrol.

The crisis has begun to ease, but the country's retail industry lobby has warned widespread shortages over the festive season are possible.

Andrew Opie, from the British Retail Consortium, told Reuters supplies were ramped up at this time of the year to ensure enough food for the peak December period.

But with months of repeated warnings from supermarkets, farmers and processors have been largely ignored by the government, it could be too late to stockpile food and other goods.

In addition, the Road Haulage Association told Reuters there was a shortfall of 100,000 heavy goods vehicle drivers in the UK, meaning avoiding imminent disaster was highly unlikely.

- Additional reporting, news.com.au