Is there a fuel shortage near you? Check, and tell other drivers.

Diesel reached £2 a litre today, and people are asking whether pumps will start running dry. Right now, in our app, the answer is no. If that changes this weekend, drivers will see it in the app first. You can help.

Published 2 October 2026 · Fuel Finder UK team

Is there a fuel shortage?

We have no sign of one. On Friday afternoon there is not a single forecourt flagged as out of fuel in the app, and none flagged for a long queue.

The problem this autumn is the price. Diesel averaged 200.0p a litre on 2 October 2026, a record, and petrol 174.8p. Read how many forecourts are over £2 for diesel.

High prices do change how people fill up, though. More drivers go looking for the cheapest forecourt, and the cheapest forecourt is where a queue or an empty pump shows up first. In September 2021 it was panic buying, not a lack of fuel in the country, that emptied forecourts across Britain. Nothing like that is happening now. If it starts, the quickest warning will come from drivers who are standing on the forecourt.

How community reports work

Any driver using the app can flag a problem at a station, and every other driver sees it.

• Out of Fuel. Say which fuel has run out: petrol, diesel or a premium grade.
• Long Queue. Give the wait, from 5 to 30 minutes.
• Other drivers check it. Anyone can confirm a report, or mark it as resolved once the problem has gone.
• Reports expire after four hours, so the map does not fill up with old news.

When there are active reports, the app shows how many and lets you open the full list or see them all on the map. A reported station carries a warning on its own page too.

How to report in ten seconds

1. Open the station in the app.
2. Tap the report button. On iPhone it is Report Community Issue, under Community Reports. On Android, open the station's details from the map.
3. Choose Out of Fuel or Long Queue, then pick the fuel or the wait.
4. Submit. Other drivers see it straight away.

If you turn up at a reported station and the pumps are working, mark the report as resolved. That is as useful as the report itself.

Why this weekend

• It is the first weekend with diesel at £2. More drivers are likely to be shopping around.
• Weekend prices barely move. Only 8 to 9% of forecourts change their petrol price on a Saturday or Sunday, so the cheap forecourts on Friday stay the cheap forecourts all weekend, and stay busy. Read which days forecourts change their prices.
• Reports only work if drivers send them. One report can save the next driver a wasted trip.

Keep reports useful

• Report what you see yourself. Not something you read online.
• One fuel out is not a closed station. Pick the fuel that has run out, so drivers who need a different one still come.
• A wrong price is a different report. Use the wrong price link on the station's page, which goes to the Government's Fuel Finder service.