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Despite Government pleas not to panic buy, queues formed at petrol stations across the county with many running out of fuel – including the only one in Kirriemuir – running out over the weekend.

The UK government urged motorists to fill up "as normal" after delivery issues led to some forecourt closures.

Ministers and transport organisations repeatedly stressed that there is no shortage of fuel in Britain and that the majority of petrol stations were operating with normal supplies of both petrol and diesel.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) also said there was enough fuel to go around and the AA said any issues were restricted to individual garages.

A small number of BP and Esso-owned Tesco Alliance stations closed on Thursday over a lack of tanker drivers.

BP had told the UK Government last week that due to the lack of lorry drivers to deliver fuel, it would prioritise motorway services and limit fuel delivery to keep the supply chain running. As a result, fuel was not delivered to some stations, causing the closure of some pumps.

It is estimated that the UK is short of about 100,000 HGV drivers - with gaps made worse by the pandemic and Brexit.

BP stated that around 20 of its 1,200 petrol forecourts nationwide were closed due to a lack of available fuel, with between 50 and 100 sites affected by the loss of at least one grade of fuel.

The Scottish government said there was no shortage of fuel supplies in Scotland, although First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Room last week to discuss the issue.

A spokesperson said: “There is no shortage of fuel and supplies are operating as normal in Scotland.”

The UK Government is now considering easing restrictions on immigration to allow around 10,000 foreign lorry drivers to come and work in the UK on a temporary basis.

A shortage of HVG drivers has been causing problems in different sectors over the past few months, with supermarkets also hit.