Petrol retailers appealed for calm this evening as rising prices and rumours of fuel shortages set off isolated instances of panic-buying at service stations this afternoon.
So far, major retailers have reported no widespread rush on the pumps and insist that, in contrast to 2000, when blockades and protests interrupted the supply lines, Britain's service stations currently have enough petrol to meet normal demand.
But independent garages today reported noticeable increases in sales and a few cases of lengthy queues ahead of planned protests by hauliers and farmers on Wednesday and Friday.
Ray Holloway, director of the Petrol Retailers Association, said the situation did not compare with the hoarding and chaos of 2000 but urged motorists to only buy what they need.
"Today has been a day of increased sales and I really do appeal to people to actually just buy fuel when they need it," said Mr Holloway. "If people are complaining about the price of fuel is seems bizarre that they will invest in this fuel - put it in their tank - and not use it for a lengthy period of time."
"If people really do buy in the normal way, fuel will be available on the forecourts when they need it," he said.
Today's panic-buying, which occurred at a handful of petrol stations in the West Midlands, the North East and Cornwall, followed a rise in petrol prices to £1 per litre in some parts of the country, and news of planned protests at oil refineries on Wednesday and a "go-slow" convoy of hauliers set for the M4 on Friday.
At Petrol Express Ltd, in Sandon Rd, Smethwick, one forecourt worker said: "We’ve done in a morning what we normally do in a day. We’ve done double or triple the business."
"If it continues the way it has this morning, I shall probably run out tomorrow. And the problem is going to be with getting deliveries because so many garages are ordering tankers."
In Falmouth, Cornwall, motorists rushed to petrol stations when they mistook the temporary closure of a service station for a sign that supplies were running low.
Mark Bradshaw of Garage Watch, which monitors over 4,500 independent petrol stations, said that he had received reports of increased sales in recent days.
"I spoke to several members this morning and they all said they were seeing an upturn in sales," he said. "I wouldn't call it panic buying, but people are filling up their cars with more than they need."
Mr Bradshaw said that several lorry drivers he had spoken to had been invited to take part in this week's protests, organised by Less Tax on Fuel, a Welsh group of farmers and hauliers, and the Fuel Lobby.
Despite the unease, BP and Esso and Asda all reported normal sales over the weekend and this morning. "We're seeing no evidence of anything other than normal supplies. There are no certainly no queues at any of our service stations," said a spokeswoman for BP, which operates 400 petrol stations in the UK.
"We're still assessing the situation, obviously, but at this moment, we're not seeing any unusual uplift in sales," said a spokeswoman for Exxon Mobil, which operates Esso forecourts. Asda reported "brisk sales" but "certainly no panic".
Since 2000, the Department for Trade and Industry has gained new powers and developed emergency plans to deal with protests if they threaten to disrupt the supply of fuel. Petrol rationing is one measure open to the Government.
Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, said yesterday that rising petrol prices were a result of decisions made by Opec and said that a solution would only come through global co-operation.
"I am aware of the challenge the hauliers face. I am aware, particularly, of the problems low-income families face with petrol prices rising," Mr Brown told the BBC.
"But I think everybody knows that, whereas five years ago there were different problems in the country, this is indeed a global problem and it demands global solutions."
