Fuel shortage hits 999 crews "We cannot and we will not alter Government policy on petrol through blockades and pickets" - Prime Minister Tony Blair The petrol and diesel price rebellion has spread, with blockades and rolling roadblocks by lorry drivers, farmers and taxi drivers up and down the country.

Panic buying also made an impact, and about a third of all filling stations are now out of fuel.

Some fire brigades and ambulance services are now saying they can only respond to emergencies.

The Prime Minister said the blockades could not and would not force government concessions on fuel duty.

More than 200 filling stations in north west England were closed or ran dry after frustrated motorists embarked on a massive panic buying spree, according to the Petrol Retailers Association.

Granada said some motorway service stations had also run dry and some ambulance and fire services began restricting non-emergency work to conserve dwindling stocks.

One independent garage in Derby was selling petrol at #11 a gallon due to the shortages.

With fresh supplies being disrupted by pickets at many of the UK's refineries - and panic buying spreading across the nation - a spokeswoman for the PRA warned: "The south has escaped the worst of it so far but that could change within the next few days."

She added: "The overall situation in the north of England is getting worse, with panic buying spreading in Yorkshire."

But as the protests continued, PM Tony Blair gave "strong support to whatever decisions police have to take" in dealing with the blockades and vowed that Government policy would not be changed by the public outcry.

Mr Blair, in Loughborough to launch a campaign to boost e-commerce, said: "We cannot and we will not alter Government policy on petrol through blockades and pickets.

"That's not the way to make policy in Britain and as far as I'm concerned it never will be."

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, accused some garages of profiteering from the motorists' misery.

He said: "Some of these garages are playing at being modern-day highwaymen, holding the motorist to ransom.

"There is no excuse for hiking prices by 13 pence or 15 pence per litre when prices are already at a premium. "

Tory leader William Hague described the situation as a "crisis made in Downing Street.

"This is an intolerable situation and I do not think the Government has begun to understand how serious it is for people around the country."

Mr Hague said that while he understood why people were protesting, police should intervene to ensure that people who rely on cars could get the fuel they needed.

David Russell, a spokesman for the Freight Transport Association, said: "We don't support and never have supported this form of industrial action.

"While we understand the sentiments of those involved in the blockade, this Government will not respond to these actions."

TotalFinaElf, which has 1,400 petrol stations nationwide, say between 30 per cent and 40 per cent are now running dry.

The company said both its refineries - at Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, and Killingholme, north Lincolnshire - remained closed.

Texaco says more than a third of its 957 petrol stations will either have run out of fuel or be close to running out shortly.

Its Pembroke refinery remains blocked by protesters.

A spokeswoman said 350 Texaco stations had been affected, with the areas worst hit being in south Wales and north-west and south-west England. S

Shell stations have also been hit by the blockades with 330 its network of 1,100 petrol stations now having run out or about to run out of fuel.

Most of the Shell stations affected are in north-west England but others which have run dry are scattered across England and Wales, said a spokesman.

Its terminals at Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, and Stanlow, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, remained shut.

Shell's refinery at Kingsbury, Warwickshire, was forced to close.

The company's other terminals, at Buncefield, Hertfordshire, and in Plymouth were functioning as normal, the spokesman said.

http://itn.co.uk/news/20000911/britain/10petrol.shtml

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 12, 2000