Kirstie Allsopp hitchhiked to London after her car ran out of fuel

Kirstie Allsopp says she abandoned her car after running out of petrol during the current fuel shortages affecting the UK.

The Location, Location, Location presenter said she had been driving from Oxfordshire to London and was unable to refill her vehicle after passing five empty petrol stations, and eventually hitched a ride, leaving her empty car at a roadside motel in Buckinghamshire.

Allsopp, 50, tweeted: "Yesterday I ran out of fuel returning from Buford to London, none available in High Wycombe area, had to leave car as no family member had enough fuel to come and help me. Today I have passed 5 petrol stations in London with ZERO fuel."

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Responding to a Twitter user who asked shy she did not use a breakdown recovery service, she said: "I didn’t want to bother them, I reckoned there were people in greater need. I met a great lad who drove me to London, and someone is collecting the car today, whole thing costing a fortune. Those without money to burn are being screwed by this situation."

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After another person tweeted she should have thought ahead, the TV presenter replied: "Thinking ahead is 'panic buying' and 'stockpiling' you can’t win."

Allsopp later claimed she had been subjected to a torrent of abuse on the social media platform for her comment on the fuel situation in the UK.

She said: "This is genuinely scary & sinister. I relayed my petrol experience. I gave no view on why it was still this way I just said it was. Yet I have received a whole load of abuse. What the hell is wrong with people?!"

And later added: "I didn’t expect any sympathy at all. I was simply relaying a common situation for many."

The presenter revealed she has just started filming a new series of Kirstie's Handmade Christmas.

Though a prolific Twitter-user Allsopp has previously decided to take a break from the social media platform, calling it a "toxic environment" after receiving abusive messages in response to her strongly voiced opinions.

The Kirstie's Homemade Home presenter came under fire last year for moving her family to their country home in Devon after her partner Ben Andersen was diagnosed with coronavirus, before lockdown restrictions came into place.

Read more: Kirstie Allsopp takes break from Twitter after controversial homeworkers post

Throughout the pandemic, Allsopp has been outspoken on social media about her frustrations with lockdown and her opinions about home workers returning to the office.

The TV presenter also faced criticism for housing a TV crew at her Devon estate during lockdown in order to shoot a new series of Channel 4 show Keep Crafting And Carry On.

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