PANIC broke out at the pumps in East Lancashire yesterday as motorists rushed to fuel up amid strike talks.

Many forecourts ran dry across the area, while those that did have supplies reported long queues.

One independent petrol station boss said ‘panic buying is causing havoc’.

ASDA supermarkets in Burnley, Blackburn and Accrington, as well as independent stations, all shut their petrol stations at one point yesterday after running out of fuel but the supermarkets were hoping for a daily delivery.

Meanwhile there were long queues of over 50 motorists reported at Tesco in Blackburn.

Several sites were rationing fuel ahead of running out, with one limiting motorists to £20 before it eventually closed.

MPs and petrol station bosses called for calm, with many saying that there was currently no problems with deliveries.

The panic buying was sparked after fuel tanker drivers voted for possible strike action, leading to fears of petrol and diesel shortages.

Gordon Birtwistle Lib Dem MP for Burnley, blamed the Government for the panic buying.

He said the advice on keeping tanks topped up, including the much-criticised call by government minister Francis Maude to fill up jerry cans, had caused the fuel frenzy.

He said: “There is absolutely no need to panic buy. There is no strike yet. They have put a vote in for strike, but no strike as yet. The union has to give seven days’ notice before a strike and this has not been announced.

“I do think that the government minister yesterday created the panic rather than the public.

"I think people are sensible enough to realise that it's just a vote for strike and hopefully it won't get to that stage. I won't be panic buying anyway."

Earl Gregory, owner of Mister C Petrol Station in Helmshore Road, Haslingden, said he had to close after running out of fuel yesterday lunchtime.

He said: “The panic buying was causing havoc. We were completely out of petrol and diesel at Haslingden.

“We will only have an issue if people continue to panic buy because we can't get another delivery until Tuesday next week.

“People are buying three times the volume they normally do. There is no reason for this. People’s average spend is around £15-20 and at the moment this has risen to £45-£60.”

Mohammed Akram, site manager at Shell UK in Rising Bridge, says he expected fuel to run out last night.

He said: “It has been very busy since this morning.

"We have five or six cars queueing at each of our 10 pumps and they have been all day. We still have petrol and diesel at the moment but in a couple of hours I think we will have ran out of fuel.

“We had a delivery at 7am and we were due another delivery but we are not sure when this will be.

“People were filling their tanks to the top and panic buying. A lot of garages nearby have closed which is making it very busy."

Motorists were forced to hunt for petrol stations with stock and queues of up to 15 cars were reported.

Figures released by the Retail Motor Industry Federation, which represents around 5,500 independent forecourts, show demand for fuel has rocketed in the last couple of days.

A spokesman said that on Tuesday diesel demand was up 20 per cent and petrol 45 per cent. On Wednesday diesel sales rose to 43 per cent and 81 per cent respectively on a week-on-week basis.

Masud Ainekar, manager at the Beehive Service Station in Haslingden Road, Blackburn, said average sales had almost tripled in recent days.

He said: "It's definitely affecting us. Our fuel pumps haven't been free for even a minute. We still have petrol and diesel and we put in extra orders this morning.

"Normally people spend about £30 but this has risen to about £80."

A spokesperson for ASDA said: "Clearly customers have been filling their tanks and we're working flat out behind the scenes to keep petrol in stock. We apologise to customers if they find some pumps are running low."

Church Lane Garage in Dill Hall Lane, Church, ran out of diesel yesterday.

Worker Kirsty Wilkinson, speaking yesterday afternoon, said: "We have no diesel left at all. We ran out at about lunch time.

"There was a queue of cars from 6am running all the way back to the main road.

"The tankers are coming as normal, but they aren't due until the morning so people will have to wait for diesel."

Nurjhan Patel, owner of 77 Garage, Gisburn, said that people had been panic buying.

Speaking yesterday she said: "People have been queueing since 4pm yesterday. We had a delivery this morning but we are not sure when the next delivery will be.

"People aren't just topping up, they are filling their cars and jerry cans full of fuel."

Asif Javed, sales assistant at the Roundabout Service Station on Chatburn Road, Clitheroe added: "We still have fuel but we have had very long queues - there are about 14 cars waiting to get onto the forecourt."

Venkata Vallabhaneni, sales assistant at Margram Plc filling station in Hyndburn Road, Church, said they have witnessed a dramatic increase in business - exacerbated by fuel shortages at neighbouring Asda and Tesco.

He said: "We are running out of diesel but we have a delivery tomorrow. We have had lots of people queueing and this has been made worse because there is no fuel at Asda or Tesco. People are not coming into the shop, they are just buying fuel."

Labour MP for Hyndburn, Graham Jones, said: "People shouldn't panic buy. All that leads to is further panic buying. As soon as people start panic buy it leads to long queues. People should only get what they need."

The UK Petroleum Industry Association said: "We hope that drivers will keep to their normal buying behaviour and we hope for a resolution to the issue."

Panic stations

BLACKBURN WITH DARWEN - The Asda petrol station in Blackburn closed at noon. The Texaco garage in Accrington Road and Shell garage at Blackburn with Darwen services both ran out of diesel at 3.30pm. The petrol station on Cravens Brow, Ewood, sold petrol with no limits imposed, but said there had been queues since the day before and did not know when the next tanker would arrive.

HYNDBURN - The Asda forecourt closed at noon. The Shell garage, in Accrington Road, imposed a maximum limit of £30 to try to curb panic buying. Texaco, in Burnley Road, had also had no fuel from noon and was waiting on a delivery at 8pm so that drivers could fill up.

RIBBLE VALLEY - The Texaco garage in Whalley Road, Clitheroe, ran out of fuel in the early afternoon. Other stations closed as well.

BURNLEY - Large queues formed at Tesco in Centenary Way with cars backed up to the mini roundabout at the entrance to the store. At Asda, in Princess Way, workers showed people to the pumps in a bid to control demand. The garage ran out of diesel with only two pumps providing unleaded fuel.

PENDLE - Drivers queued at garages in Colne and Nelson as pumps ran dry.

ROSSENDALE - Panic buying caused mayhem, with some stations completely running out of fuel. Mister C petrol station in Haslingden closed at lunchtime while the Shell UK garage in Rising Bridge was expected to run out last night.