A man has died in Lebanon after swallowing petrol he was siphoning out of his vehicle’s tank, according to the country’s national news agency.

The Lebanese National News Agency said the young man in the northern town of Bhannine died in hospital.

The Syrian man’s death comes as Lebanon struggles with a fuel shortage that has forced many businesses to close and left people relying on the black market.

People queue for miles to fill up their vehicle tanks and the chaos sometimes results in violence.

The central bank recently decided to end subsidies for fuel products, sending prices up to 10 times higher than they were last year.

It is part of a wider crisis, compounded by corruption and bad governance, which affects almost every part of life in Lebanon.

The UN estimates that 78% of the country’s population is living in poverty, with soaring unemployment and a currency that has plummeted in value.

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