British soldiers will start driving tankers soon to replenish empty pumps as drivers queued again for fuel after days of shortages, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying the situation was improving.

Britain has been gripped by a rush of panic buying for almost a week that has left pumps dry across major cities, after oil companies warned they did not have enough tanker drivers to move gasoline and diesel from refineries to filling stations.

Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said 150 soldiers had been mobilized, and would be driving tankers within a few days.

“The last few days have been difficult, we’ve