A GLOBAL fuel company is blaming lack of supply for the shortage of diesel in Cumbria and north Lancashire.

Kendal, Ulverston and Lancaster branches of Shell have experienced a lower number of deliveries over the past couple weeks, which has seen them running out of the fuel.

A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we are currently experiencing a temporary reduction in diesel volumes from Essar’s Stanlow refinery.

“We are doing all we can to keep retail stations well supplied, but we are experiencing some occasional short lived diesel stock-outs.

“We would like to apologise to our customers for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Shell said they were unsure when the problem would be resolved.