THERE was continued panic at the petrol pumps as motorists frantically filled their tanks to make sure they would be able to travel for the next few days.

Several stations in Worcester had their unleaded pumps emptied by early afternoon yesterday as queues of motorists waited anxiously for fuel.

As petrol station managers experienced more than double the usual business the news came that some of today's deliveries would not be arriving.

"We've been told that today's expected delivery will not be coming because they can't get through the blockade," said Angela Richens, of Lower Wick petrol station.

"People are asking for petrol all the time but we just don't have any.

"At Kingsbury they're trying to get the tankers out but they just can't move."

Blockades by lorry drivers, angry at rising costs, have formed outside the Kingsbury refinery in Warwickshire.

The centre supplies Jet, BP, and Texaco stations in the West Midlands.

At noon yesterday, the blockade began with just one protester, but by this morning it had escalated to a full-scale picket with lorries and other vehicles blocking the entrance.

"Tony Blair might not back down, but neither will we," said one haulier who did not want to be named.

"By this weekend there will be no petrol anywhere and people won't even be able to buy a loaf of bread."

Petrol stations in Pershore, Leominster, Hereford, and Malvern were also reported to have run dry by early yesterday afternoon.

Many were unsure of when their next deliveries would be coming.

Those that did have petrol of any grade were not expecting stocks to last much longer.

"We've got LRP, but nothing else," said Chris Phillips, store manager of Tesco St Peter's in Worcester.

"We're ever-hopeful of a delivery today but we're in the same predicament as everybody else."

"We had one delivery yesterday morning and the whole delivery went," said Lisa Dandy, cashier at Larkhill services on London Road, Worcester.

"Usually, one delivery lasts two-and-a-half days, but people were coming in and filling more than one car and they were filling up cans as well.

"We're now only letting emergency services fill up."

We're now only letting emergency services fill up."

The Evening News would like petrol stations to inform readers of how the crisis is affecting them.

We would like to know when deliveries are expected and how forecourts are coping with the demand.

Call Alison Fraser on 01905 748200 ext. 282.