POLICE have confirmed contingency plans are in place to maintain emergency services during the ongoing fuel crisis.

A shortage of tanker drivers and panic buying among the public means garages across the country are running dry.

The Government has placed the army on standby to make deliveries.

In County Durham people still expect to get the same response from police and firefighters if there is an emergency.

A Durham Constabulary spokesman said: “As the public would fully expect, we have tried and tested contingency plans in place to deal with a range of scenarios, including issues around fuel supply.”

North East Ambulance Service said there 'no concerns' about its supply of fuel. 

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said there had been ‘no change’ in operations.

Area manager Keith Carruthers said: “The current national fuel situation is not affecting County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service and our communities should be reassured that there is no change at all to the service’s operation.”

A Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson the fuel crisis was 'not currently an issue' for the service.

He added: "We have a robust arrangement in place with our suppliers, which means we have adequate provisions to operate our vehicles.”

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