Petrol stations across Britain ran out of fuel today as motorists ignored pleas for calm and filled their cars ahead of protests planned fuel protests tomorrow.
Organisers of tomorrow's protests remain close-lipped about where exactly they will take place. But there are unconfirmed reports that angry hauliers and farmers will gather at 6am at the Shell refinery at Jarrow, south Tyneside, and at the BP refineries in Coryton, Essex, and Grangemouth in Scotland.
Andrew Spence, a farmer and haulier from Consett, County Durham, who leads the People's Fuel Lobby, which is organising the protest, promised that it would be peaceful and would not interrupt the distribution of petrol. "We are not going to restrict any thoroughfare of fuel whatsoever," said Mr Spence.
But industry observers questioned whether Mr Spence would be able to keep the demonstration under control. "If you get gangs of hauliers up there at six o'clock in the morning, they are going to want to see something dramatic," said Mark Bradshaw, the director of Garage Watch, which monitors 4,500 independent petrol stations. "It really is a case of suck it and see."
Mr Bradshaw said that panic-buying increased across Britain today ahead of the protests. More demonstrations, including a slow-moving convoy of hauliers designed to clog the M4, are planned for Friday.
"It's gradually got worse all day," said Mr Bradshaw. "I've heard of an awful lot of garages running dry. One supplier said he had 60 sites run dry."
Major retailers continued to urge customers not to buy more petrol than they need. Unlike 2000, when blockades and protests interrupted the supply of fuel to service stations, there is currently no shortage of petrol in the UK.
"Customers watching the television news and reading the papers feel they need to top up, but there’s no need," said a spokesman for British retailer Tesco, which has 380 filling stations dotted around the country.
"There are absolutely no supply problems so our message to customers is not to change their buying patterns," he said.
A spokesman for BP, Britain's largest petrol retailer, reiterated the message, saying that today's instances of panic-buying were isolated events.
"I don't think the situation has changed very much since yesterday," he said. "Sales were perhaps a little busier today and one or two stations ran out of stock, but there is plenty of fuel in the system."
In today's worst rushes, drivers were caught in hour-long queues in parts of London, North-East England, Scotland and Essex while garages in the West Country, Midlands and on Merseyside were forced to close. At some independent stations, prices shot up to 108.9p per litre.
The Chancellor responded to the growing unease by calling on the world's oil-producing nations to release more crude oil to soften petrol prices that have risen 20 per cent in recent months and threaten to rise again in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Gordon Brown told the TUC conference in Brighton that the Government understood the problems being faced by hauliers, farmers and motorists but insisted on an international response to the problem.
"The first action we must take is to tackle the cause of the problem, ensuring concerted global action is taken to bring down world oil prices and stabilise the market for the long term," he said.
Under legislation passed since the 2000 fuel protests, which led to widespread shortages, the Government can impose rationing on motorists and set up separate supply sites for essential workers, such as doctors, nurses and fire fighters, should the panic-buying escalate.
There is also the option of a minimum £20 spend for motorists. During the chaos five years ago, many queues were caused by motorists who wished to spend only £5 or £10 or to fill a petrol can.
Five ways to beat the queues (courtesy of the AA)
Prefer the pricey
An average car engine burns around 3p of fuel per minute when idling. Instead of joining big queues at the cheaper supermarket stations, save time and money by heading to one of the slightly pricier, but quiet, independent garages.
Check your tyre pressure
Running around on under-inflated tyres can cost around 8 per cent more in fuel.
Time your visit
Wait until after 8pm, when most commuters, shoppers and school-run mums are at home.
Watch your right foot
Dropping your motorway speed from 80mph to 70mph reduces petrol consumption by up to 40 per cent. Don't brake sharply: it causes consumption to rocket.
Switch off the air conditioning
In-car heaters and air conditioners can increase fuel use by around 10 per cent - open a window instead.
Don't panic
Britain has enough fuel to last 80 days as long as everyone remains calm. Panic-buyers triple demand, and can empty a petrol station in three hours. Fill up as normal and there will be enough to go round.
