The South East is still in the grip of a fuel crisis - with a third of petrol stations dry or short on supply - despite Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today

The South East is still in the grip of a fuel crisis - with a third of petrol stations dry or short on supply - despite Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today claiming supply levels are 'close to normal range'. 

The Petrol Retailers Association's research showed that 12 per cent of filling stations have run out of fuel in the region, while 17 per cent have one grade of diesel or petrol.

Under 75 per cent of petrol stations have both diesel and petrol in London and South East England, as opposed to 90 per cent outside those areas. 

The figures are at loggerheads with Mr Shapps' claims that the issue is almost entirely over. 

He told GB News today: 'In London and the South East, supply levels in petrol stations are getting very close to the normal range and we'll see them opening up in a day or too. 

'There was never a shortage of fuel in the refineries and storage stations. As soon as people queue up to fill up fuel you get into a situation where you get a run on something like we saw with toilet rolls. 

'The amount of fuel in the petrol stations themselves is about double what it was at the low point.'  

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, pictured on BBC Breakfast today, said petrol station supply levels are 'close to normal range'

People fill their cars up with fuel at a Tesco petrol station in South East London today

A man is seeing filling a jerry can at a Shell petrol station in South East London today

Retailers have laid part of the blame for the spiralling petrol crisis on the government's switchover to greener E10 fuel and demanding an inquiry into the forecourt chaos that has left pumps dry across the country.

Industry leaders said they had been 'emptying their tanks as fast as we could' ahead of the rollout - which left them short during the recent panic buying. 

Official figures released yesterday said tankers kept a steady supply of fuel to petrol stations throughout the summer and the start of September.

But from September 1 the amount of excess kept at forecourts plummeted by up to 25 per cent due to the switch to E10.

It led to the crisis Britain is gripped in when panic buying from September 24 swept the country.  

Brian Madderson, Chairman of the PRA, told The Times: 'The recovery is simply not happening quickly enough. We are into our 15th day of the crisis. 

'There needs to be an independent inquiry into the crisis, so that motorists are protected from such acute fuel shortages in the future.' 

The association also referred to disrupted delivery schedules, including one tanker which had to return to the depot full after going to a petrol station that had already been stocked.

Meanwhile, experts have warned that not all cars can use E10 petrol, because it is expected to make your vehicle less efficient and will cost every motorist more in fuel bills.  

E10 petrol became the 'standard' type of unleaded being sold at forecourts from September 1.

The greener fuel was introduced by the Government to try to reduce vehicle emissions as part of its wider efforts to hit its decarbonisation targets.

But while it will cut CO2 outputs from road transport there are a number of drawbacks.

Mr Madderson said that recent figures show the fuel crisis was an 'unintended consequence' of the E10 rollout.

Some pumps were out of fuel at a Tesco petrol station in South East London today

The price of fuel is displayed at a BP garage on the Old Kent Road this morning 

He told the Telegraph: 'For weeks we had been emptying our tanks of E5, the old fuel, as fast as we could to get ready for E10. We had all run our petrol stocks down.

'So when the panic buying started, many of our members ran out pretty quickly. Then the shortage of HGV drivers meant we couldn't get supplies quickly enough.

'I don't blame the Government particularly but the E10 switchover clearly had an unintended consequence: we couldn't cope with the surge in demand.'

The name E10 is a reference to the ethanol - or bioethanol - mix in the fuel before it is sold on forecourts.

It is 10 per cent, up from a 5 per cent mix from E5 petrol that's been supplied at forecourts for years. The higher the ethanol mix, the greener the fuel. 

Chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, Brian Madderson (pictured above), has called for an 'independent inquiry' into the spiralling petrol crisis

This is because the bioethanol content is an alcohol-based product created from the fermentation of a range of plants including sugarcane, cassava and hemp.

It makes any bioethanol mix partially 'atmospherically carbon-neutral' because the plants have absorbed more carbon dioxide while growing than what is released.

While ministers will argue that this - in theory - offsets greenhouse gas emissions, there is much debate about by how much.

Materials needed for the higher concentration of bioethanol in E10 will be produced and refined in the UK.

Its introduction is said to have generated up to 100 jobs in the North East, with AB Sugar's Vivergo plant set to reopen.

Some petrol stations have already opted to sell only E10 at their forecourts - including Asda - while BP said it will only sell E5 at some sites.

MPs claim the introduction of E10 petrol will cut CO2 emissions by 750,000 tonnes a year.

That is equivalent to taking 350,000 cars off the road today - or every motor registered in North Yorkshire.

Grant Shapps said the 'small switch' to E10 petrol will 'help drivers across the country reduce the environmental impact of every journey, as we build back greener'.

Doubling the renewable bioethanol mix to 10 per cent also means less fossil fuel is needed in unleaded, which has environmental benefits.

These are the rough estimations from the Department for Transport regarding E10 compatibility by years for each car and motorcycle brand. That said, motorists are urged to use the compatibility checker to double check they can fill up with the greener fuel

Addressing questions over whether E10 has had a role in the fuel shortage, a Department for Transport spokesman said: 'There is no evidence to suggest that the introduction of E10 was related to the fuel shortage. 

'The fuel issues we have seen in recent weeks were caused by an unprecedented spike in demand as a result of atypical consumer behaviour.

'The legislation that the Government put in place to introduce E10 allows fuel retailers to still use existing stocks until November 1 as part of a gradual change, so there was no need for the emptying of storage tanks. 

'This timeframe was extensively discussed and agreed with stakeholders.'