Pumps dry in petrol panic

Some forecourts have had to close, the clearest indication yet that the county is edging towards a fuel crisis reminiscent of five years ago.

Fuel suppliers said they were struggling to cope with a week's demand in just one day as queues formed outside petrol stations.

On the eve of expected protests over fuel duty, many drivers were recalling the crippling shortages of 2000 and rushing to fill up.

Five years ago, farmers and hauliers brought Britain to standstill with a series of blockades aimed at forcing the government to cut petrol and diesel taxes.

But yesterday one of the demonstrations' leaders said supplies would not be obstructed this time.

It did not stop anxious drivers queueing at forecourts across Sussex to fill their tanks as a precaution, with some petrol stations running out of fuel as a result.

Lines of traffic clogged roads as motorists waited up to half an hour to fill up.

Police warned panic buyers would have only themselves to blame for any fuel shortages.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said yesterday: "At the present time there are no demonstrations and no disruption to normal supply.

"Any shortages are purely being caused by panic buying."

One Sussex officer said: "I don't know why anyone is queuing. The Argus should tell them it will be their fault if there is another petrol shortage."

ACPO admitted chief constables were making contingency plans in case of blockades and shortages. A statement yesterday said: "The police have a responsibility to safeguard the right to peaceful protest but blocking the highway or preventing companies going about their business is unlawful, as is the disruption of essential goods and services that rely on oil. Police will take firm action as necessary.

"We have no reason to believe supplies will be disrupted but in any event chief constables around the country are currently making arrangements to deal with any incidents."

Some of the county's filling stations were closed as early as yesterday morning following an invasion by worried motorists.

A sign outside Seaford Filling Station in Station Approach displayed by 9am said there was no more fuel, while the eight pumps at the BP station in Brighton Road, Worthing, were switched off by lunchtime.

The Golden Cross Filling Station, in Hailsham, had ran out of diesel and unleaded by yesterday afternoon.

The Texaco garage in Telscombe Cliffs, Peacehaven, had run out just after lunch but a delivery was expected today.

Garage owner James Watson said: "Monday night and all day yesterday were very busy. We had six people on the forecourt directing traffic and we had to call the police on one occasion as a safety precaution because it got a bit bad-tempered."

Sea Place Garage, in Goring Road, Goring, ran out of unleaded by the afternoon.

Sales manager Chris Davis said: "We sold a normal week's worth in about a day.

"The trouble for us is we won't get the delivery we need. We were supposed to get a delivery on Tuesday but that's not going to be coming until Thursday.

"Even if the full strike doesn't actually take off at all it's still going to take a while to sort this out."

Texaco office staff were visiting filling stations across the county to monitor sales yesterday.

Manager Neil Reeves, at the Texaco garage in Old Shoreham Road, Portslade, said it had got even busier since the nearby Tesco filling station ran out yesterday afternoon.

He said: "Since Monday night it's been a joke. It's been really bad and if it carries on like this we will run out."

Drivers queued to fill up at Kings Drive Service Station, Eastbourne, and outside Tesco's filling station in Lottbridge Drove.

The Newmarket Filling Station, in Brighton Road, Lewes, reported it was business as usual and the BP, in Mill Road, Brighton, expected to meet demand until another delivery.

The Shell garage in Old Shoreham Road, Hove, had almost run dry, while the Woodingdean Service Station in Falmer Road did not expect a delivery until Saturday.

Staff at Petrol Express in Hewarts Lane, Bognor Regis, expected double the number of petrol deliveries this week.

Cashier Janey Brockwell, 20, said: "Some drivers have even come back a couple of times with containers."

Transport manager Adam Bish, of haulage firm Penfold Verrall and Son, said there were no contingency plans yet and all they could do was wait and see.

He said their tanks were too small to store enough reserve fuel and he supported the protests.

He said: "The prices are ridiculous - our fuel bill exceeds our wage bill and I think you'll find a lot of haulage companies are facing the same problem."

Barry Trevena, manager of ABC Transport in The Ridge West, St Leonards, said buying fuel in bulk had decreased to 92.9p a litre yesterday compared with up to £1 recently and he expected the Government to announce a cut in petrol prices.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: "There's really no need for customers to queue because there are no supply problems and there's plenty of fuel for everybody."

East Sussex Fire Authority reminded people to be careful as motorists stocked up on fuel supplies. It warned storage of petrol was highly regulated because a leak could cause an explosion or serious fire.

Senior fire safety officer Adrian Brown said it was illegal for petrol stations to allow people to fill a container not designed to hold fuel and an offence to put more petrol in a container than the capacity printed on its label.

The amount of petrol that could be carried in a car was also restricted to two metal containers of ten litres or less and two plastic containers of five litres or less.

He said: "At home, you can store up to 15 litres of petrol in approved containers. However, as fumes may cause cancer, storing petrol indoors is not recommended."

Keith Taylor, Green councillor for Brighton and Hove City Council, called on the Government to look further into sustainable transport in the wake of an impending fuel crisis.

He said: "A responsible government would be planning now for when oil is even more expensive and in short supply.

"Industry analysts predict crude oil will double from its present price within the next few years. We're seeing the upset petrol pump price rises of a few pence per litre can cause. There is a real potential for huge civil disruption when peak oil predictions come true."

The UK Petroleum Industry Association, which represents firms such as Shell, BP, Esso and Total, said a it had seen a week's worth of demand in one day but insisted there was no need to panic. It was liaising with police and the Department for Trade and Industry to limit any protest actions.

Meanwhile fuel protest organisers were keeping their plans close to their chests.

They have so far refused to name the oil refineries where they will stage demonstrations, although there are unconfirmed rumours of protests at the Shell refinery at Jarrow, south Tyneside, and at the BP refineries in Coryton, Essex, and Grangemouth in Scotland.

Andrew Spence, the farmer and haulier who was a prime mover in the 2000 protests with the People's Fuel Lobby, said he would be staging "peaceful protests" at selected refineries but pledged there would be no blockades.

Mr Spence, of Consett, County Durham, said: "We are not going to restrict any thoroughfare of fuel whatsoever."

He added that French lorry drivers were preparing to blockade the port of Calais tomorrow and encouraged their English counterparts to do the same in Dover.