THE fuel blockades crippling Britain may have been sparked by a meeting of disgruntled farmers at Worcestershire's Frankley Services, according to reports today.

It is claimed a meeting of 12 farmers at the M5 service station, near Bromsgrove, this spring over falling milk prices resulted in the militant Farmers for Action group being formed.

Members felt the National Farmers' Union and Country Landowners Association were not doing enough to change the situation.

The group started to picket supermarket distribution depots and dairies to spark a turnaround in the industry's fortunes.

But it was claimed today by a farming industry source that the success of the pickets prompted lorry drivers to take the same action, resulting in the fuel crisis.

"Due to the effectiveness of the farmers' campaign, the hauliers have now decided to jump on board," said the source.

Meanwhile, union leaders today urged fuel protesters to end their demonstration because of the damage being caused to the economy.

Officials said the protesters should accept that they had made their point and call off the action.

"I don't think the protests are helping the position at all now," said Sir Ken Jackson, general secretary of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union. "They should start to co-operate in ensuring that supplies of petrol get back to stations.

"They have to understand the damage being caused to the economy. But the Government should also take note of the protest and make sure that their long-term goal is to reduce costs on industry."

Bill Morris, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union, said he was concerned for the safety of tanker drivers caught up in the dispute.