Petrol pumps run dry as motorists ignore 'don't panic' plea

12 April 2012

Petrol pumps began running dry within hours of the start of the tanker drivers' strike - and up to 1,000 filling stations could be without fuel by next week, experts have warned.


Petrol retailers urged customers to stay calm today as drivers descended on forecourts despite Government and industry pleas not to panic-buy fuel.

Supermarkets said they were working to maintain supplies in the face of increased customer demand since talks to avoid a strike by Shell tanker drivers broke down on Thursday.

Lorry drivers also began a 'go-slow' on the M6 to protest over rising fuel costs.

Drained dry: Petrol stations in London (left) and Cornwall (right) had to close within hours of the strike after running out of fuel

'Sold out' signs appeared at garages as motorists ignored the Government's plea not to panic buy.

There were reports of drivers topping up their tanks with small amounts of fuel or filling spare cans.

The AA warned car owners 'not to waste a single drop' as union officials said the strike would further strangle supplies over the weekend.

People attempting to fill up in more remote areas suffered the worst shortages yesterday but even in London there were garages that sold out.

Experts said up to 1,000 petrol stations could be left without fuel by next week, pushing the price of diesel past the £6-a-gallon mark.

Analysts Petrolbusters.com also warned of 'profiteering' by some garages as supplies become scarce as a result of the four-day strike.

Last night it appeared the misery is set to be repeated as the union Unite gave Shell bosses notice that they plan disruption again from next Friday.

Stand-still: Tankers lined up in the car-park of Coryton Refinery Depot in Essex

Stand-still: Tankers lined up in the car-park of Coryton Refinery Depot in Essex

Hoyer UK and Suckling, the two firms contracted by Shell to deliver fuel, said Unite had notified them last night 'that they plan to strike across the UK again next weekend'.

By law the union must give seven days' notice of action.

Pickets at terminals around the country were manned by hundreds of trade union members, with police on guard in case of violence.

Tanker drivers from other companies refused to cross picket lines, exacerbating shortages.

At Shell's refinery in Stanlow, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, placard-wielding pickets cheered when drivers not involved in the dispute turned their tankers around.

Their placards declared: 'Shell profits gush' and 'Drivers' pay trickles'.

Standing together: Tanker drivers on the picket line outside Stanlow Oil Refinery in Cheshire today. The strike is set to last until Tuesday morning

Standing together: Tanker drivers on the picket line outside Stanlow Oil Refinery in Cheshire today. The strike is set to last until Tuesday morning

Break-down: Industrial action started at 6am after talks between the Unite union and the firms that deliver fuel to Shell garages collapsed yesterday

Break-down: Industrial action started at 6am after talks between the Unite union and the firms that deliver fuel to Shell garages collapsed yesterday

Striking drivers at Stanlow in Cheshire were last night joined by 15 BP drivers who refused to start work.

Drivers at the Kingsbury oil depot in Warwickshire yesterday clapped as a BP tanker pulled up to say he would not be crossing the picket line.

Members of the public driving past the depot also honked their horns in support for the picketing drivers.

Drivers in the West Country and Scotland suffered most, along with the North West of England.

Sil Damhayan, who works at a Shell garage in Hove, East Sussex, said fuel supplies were just hours away from running out after three days of panic buying.

'People are concerned all the supplies will run out,' he said.

A worker at the Shell garage in Brighton said: 'We'll probably run out by the end of today.'

At the Shell station in Bayswater, West London, a rush of customers in the morning drained the pumps.

Panic-buying: Drivers queuing up at a service station in Boroughbridge, northern England, today to stock up in case petrol supplies run dry

Panic-buying: Drivers queuing up at a service station in Boroughbridge, northern England, today to stock up in case petrol supplies run dry

Gordon Brown condemned the strike, saying: 'We have been working very closely with the industry to put in place a contingency plan to reduce, as far as possible, and minimise disruption to the public.'

Business Secretary John Hutton said: 'Our advice to motorists is just to buy the fuel they need.'

AA president Edmund King said: 'Drivers should cut out short journeys, stick to speed limits and take off roof-racks to save fuel.

'But above all do not queue up at fuel stations. Don't waste a drop.'

There were fears a strike by just 650 workers, who are seeking an improved pay offer, could escalate into a wider fuel protest.

Tony Woodley, joint leader of Unite, said he was 'bitterly disappointed' by the strike which he blamed on Shell's ' corporate greed'.

He was not surprised tanker drivers from other companies had refused to cross picket lines.

'We always expected that in a very close-knit community tanker drivers would support each other,' he said.

Taking a stand: Picketers watch a tanker driver leave the Kingsbury fuel depot near Birmingham

Taking a stand: Picketers watch a tanker driver leave the Kingsbury fuel depot near Birmingham

Hoyer and Suckling Transport said unions had rejected an increase for this year of 7.3 per cent backdated to January, which would take average earnings to more than £39,000, with a further six per cent increase from next January, which would take it to around £41,500.

They said the union had refused to suspend the strike and put the offers to a ballot.

Shell said that seven out of its 870 filling stations had completely run out of petrol by 6pm last night  -  with more bound to follow.

When asked if the company could stop other stations running dry, Shell UK chairman James Smith said: 'I don't know that we can.

'We will have to see how it develops over the weekend.'

Rising costs: A two-car family is paying out an extra £44.02 a month this year

Rising costs: A two-car family is paying out an extra £44.02 a month this year

He added that there had been 'higher sales', but he praised Britain's motorists for their 'responsible behaviour.'

He said the dispute was 'regrettable' and he urged the two parties to settle.

In further misery for drivers, a six-hour, go-slow protest by truckers on motorways in north west England today is due to cause more chaos on the roads

Protester Bruce Horn, from Farmers For Action, said: 'We are asking the Government to abolish the 2p rise in fuel they have only so far postponed.'

The Shell chairman Mr Smith sought to beat the strike by cycling from his luxury home in Walton on Thames to the town's station where he caught the 8.06am fast train to London Waterloo  -  a stone's throw from his company's Thameside headquarters.

The AA said  the average price of petrol yesterday was 117.56p a litre.

More expensive diesel was averaging 130.99p -  a fraction under the £6 gallon which is reached when it increases by another 1p a litre.

Petrol retailers predict rises of up to 5p in the pipeline.

The extra cost of filling up the average Mondeo-sized family car with petrol compared to a year ago is now £10.27.

The extra cost of filling up the average diesel  is £16.79 more.

It is costing a two car family £44.02 more each month compared to last year.

Brendan McLoughlin, founder of PetrolPrices.com which says 55 areas in the UK could be without fuel as the forecourts run dry, said: ‘Motorists need to stay vigilant and make sure they don’t fall victim to profiteering.

'I’d like to think that forecourt owners won’t take advantage of the situation, but  there are those prepared to hike prices and make a profit out of drivers’ misery.'

•MORE than 10,000 car workers face an uncertain future as production ground to a halt because parts are trapped in Spain. 

Rioting hauliers angry at rising fuel costs have blockaded ports and airports, stopping exports.

More than 6,100 workers making Minis at BMW plants in Oxford and Swindon were told not to come in on Thursday.

Production at the Toyota plant at Burnaston, Derbyshire - employing more than 4,000 - also halted on Thursday night.

Although it resumed temporarily, it was due to halt again last night.

The 5,000-plus staff at Oxford have been told to phone an emergency number on Monday.

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