Stockpiling petrol in your car could have incredibly dangerous consequences, according to a firefighter.
Retired London Fire Brigade Borough Commander Steve Dudeney shared a photograph on Twitter about the consequences of having carrying large amounts of fuel stored in your car on Saturday.
He wrote: “This is a photo from an incident I attended 12 years ago.
“The man driving the car had filled some petrol containers up and placed them in the boot. The escaping petrol vapour met an ignition source in his car, this was the result.”
He attached a photo of a car which was completely burnt at the front, and without a front window screen.
Dudeney continued: “Panic buyers beware!! #petrolpanic #panicbuying.”
He told HuffPost UK that the petrol container “must have been damaged or improperly sealed”, as may happen with cans not designed for carrying the fuel.
He added: “The vapour filled the car until it met a spark or other ignition source, most likely from the car’s electrics.”
Dudeney said he and firefighting team identified the remains “of at least two containers in the car” after the incident.
His next tweet read: “He was still alive but badly burned when I arrived, airlifted to a burns unit, I never heard if he survived.”
His words come at a time the UK is in the grips of a fuel crisis, worsened by motorists stockpiling on petrol.
Some have resorted to using water bottles or other containers which are not designed for carrying petrol.
The panic around petrol supplies followed oil giant BP’s warning that it was soon going to struggle getting petrol to pumps all over the country last week. This is a challenge facing a range of industries in the UK at the moment, because there is a significant shortage of HGV drivers.
The refineries themselves do have more than enough petrol to keep Britain moving.