Three cars smash into wall at petrol station as bosses take action
Ramanathan Uthayarajan, manager of the Jet garage in Rose Lane, with his new petrol customer notice - Credit: Ben Hardy
Three drivers have crashed their cars into the wall of a city business in a scramble to buy fuel from a neighbouring petrol station.
R R Motors in Fakenham Road, Taverham, is having its site repaired following the crunches this weekend as cars tried to get into the Shell station next door.
It comes as other stations are resorting to extra measures to try to control drivers amid the petrol panic.
The smashed wall at R R Motors next to the Shell filling station in Taverham - Credit: Contributed
Owner of R R Motors Roger Tallent said the first driver who hit the wall had tried to flee but could not escape due to the sheer amount of cars.
"He tried to deny it to start with but I said 'You can't deny it when there are brick marks all the way up the side of your vehicle'," Mr Tallent explained.
The wall was knocked down on Friday morning, then hit again on Sunday morning and for a third time on Sunday evening.
While the first red-faced driver was caught the other two motorists left the scene.
Mr Tallent said: "It's an unwelcome distraction for our business. We have CCTV but it's not on there."
Elsewhere in the city the Jet garage in Rose Lane is largely unscathed - but its manager will be introducing new guidelines for drivers.
After ordering 40,000 litres of fuel on Friday morning, Ramanathan Uthayarajan was surprised to see it used up by the following morning.
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He will be putting up a customer notice requesting a maximum fill of £30 per person.
The notice states: "Please respect other customer's rights in this unusual situation."
A new customer notice for the Jet garage in Rose Lane, Norwich, in response to the petrol panic - Credit: Ben Hardy
A spokesman for the Asda petrol station in Hall Road said he is not aware of any confrontations between drivers and security colleagues are at on hand at all stores to deal with any unsavoury scenes.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the STR Garage in Garden Street said the repair shop has had random calls from people requesting fuel.
This is because the business incorrectly appears on Google when searching for Norwich petrol stations.
A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman added: “We’re experiencing high demand for fuel. We’re working closely with our supplier to maintain supply and all our sites continue to receive fuel.”
