Drivers from "all over" have been flocking to a family-run filling station that is selling petrol for just £1.69 a litre. Bailey's Garage in Brecon Road in Abergavenny is selling some of the cheapest unleaded petrol for miles bringing in massive queues – up to a mile long – from the minute it's open right up until it closes.
The garage's general assistant Cerys Holland said that since the price of their BP petrol went down two weeks ago it's been "bonkers" and the staff "don't stop". She explained that Bailey's is currently offering petrol that is about 20p cheaper than prices at other local stations and even cheaper than ones further out.
"It's a local garage. You know people's faces and I've seen people that I've never seen before so you know they're coming from all over to get it. It must be worth it," said the 34-year-old, who's worked at the station for 12 years.
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"There are queues from the minute it's open to the minute we're shut. We haven't had a break. I've been here since 2pm and they are still queuing now," she continued, speaking to WalesOnline on Thursday evening. "I was here till 10pm last night and they were still trying to get in and we shut at 10pm. It's crazy. We're having tankers every day."
She said the queues have extended as far as a bridge a mile away. "Right now they're to the roundabout so I would say they're about six or seven [cars] deep right now. But that's the best – that's as little as it's been. They're obviously desperate for some cheap fuel, which is great for us."
The last time the family business was so popular was during the fuel shortages – but even that wasn't as manic. "When there was the shortage we had the queues. That was pure panic I think. But not constant like it is now. It's crazy," said Cerys.
Eliot Sheean, the owner of Eliot's Taxis nearby, said the influx of vehicles sometimes blocked off the road as drivers waited to fill up. "When they go in and out they're queuing up, indicating left to go in and blocking [Brecon Road] off. So people have got to wait for the cars to go through the petrol station before they can go down Brecon Road."
Meanwhile Catarina Ventura, a student veterinary nurse at Riverside Vet Care, which is also right next to the garage, said: "We can see loads of cars queuing up. It's all day really but mostly in the morning there are loads."
According to the RAC's fuel watch figures the latest average price for petrol in the UK is 187.54p per litre – 17.64p more expensive that what Bailey's Garage is offering. The difference in diesel (8.22p) is less stark though still noticeable with Bailey's selling it for 187.9p against a UK average of 196.12p.
It comes as fuel prices continue to bite amid the cost of living crisis. Motorists plan to stage further fuel price protests on Friday with disruption expected in Cardiff as well as on the M4 and key roads around southwest England. Avon and Somerset Police warned motorists that “slow-moving roadblocks” are planned on parts of the M4, M5, M32, and A38.
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