Up to 90% of petrol stations in major British cities are running out of fuel as panic buying deepens a supply chain crisis triggered by a shortage of lorry drivers, foreign media reported.

Petrol stations across Britain formed queues of dozens of cars on Sunday, running out of supplies and forcing many to "close their doors", Reuters reported. Gas stations in British cities were either closed or put out out-of-supply signs on Monday, Reuters said.

The British Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), which represents independent fuel retailers, said its members were reporting that in some areas between 50 and 90 per cent of filling stations had run out of fuel. "Unfortunately, we are seeing panic fuel buying in many parts of the country," said Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Gasoline Retailers Association.

Separately, after meeting with industry executives, the U.K. government agreed Sunday night to grant fuel retailing companies a temporary exemption from the 1998 competition Law to encourage them to share information and maximize supply, the Wall Street Journal's Chinese website reported.

Transport companies have urged the government to relax immigration policies and bring in more EU drivers to increase capacity after the Road Haulage Association said the shortage of fuel supplies was due to the coronavirus pandemic, an ageing workforce and the exodus of EU workers following Brexit.