Through the night the cars kept coming – spilling out on to the roads beyond the forecourt.

But by 6am, staff at the petrol station in Isleworth, west London, had covered over the first of the empty pumps and by 7am there was no unleaded left at all.

For taxi driver Oswald Donald, it was all too frustrating.

“It’s stupidity that we’re all queuing up but this is my job so I have to have diesel… that’s it – I’m in here for my work.

“One person tells someone there’s queues so they go and do it and so on and so forth.”

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Steve Georgiades was out at 6.30am just to get fuel and the Shell garage was the third he’d tried.

“Look at my tank, I don’t fill up usually, I leave it.

“Look at that – it’s empty. How am I going to work on Monday? Are you with me? I’m done.”

Some drivers were even filling up small petrol cans once they’d filled their cars.

And by 9am the cones were placed at the forecourt entrances as a staff member explained there was no fuel left at all.

A delivery, he said, was coming but he didn’t know when or what type it would be.

And queues for another nearby petrol station have snarled up the surrounding roads ensuring any delivery will be delayed.

The irony is, there is no national shortage of fuel, just drivers.

But the panic buying will undoubtedly leave many motorists who really need to fill the tank caught short.