THE pumps were running dry at petrol stations throughout the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley this week as the fuel crisis began to bite. Garage owners were predicting a stay-at-home weekend unless more supplies were made available immediately.

With almost everyone in the district reliant upon cars for transport, panic buying soon drained available supplies.

"If the crisis ends immediately it is going to take at least four days to get back to normal," said a garage owner. "We anticipate the next delivery of fuel going out almost as soon as it is delivered – it will take some time for everything to return to normal."

"People are becoming cautious and many are now restricting themselves to essential journeys only," said a police spokesman.

In a statement to the Review the police said they had sufficient fuel to meet their operational commitments for the foreseeable future.

"We have formed an executive group of key people to co-ordinate all the issues that may arise as a result of the fuel shortage. The public at this time should be reassured that contingencies are in place to deal with all areas that affect public safety," said the statement.

Police say they have received a number of complaints about traffic congestion around petrol stations where fuel is still available. This is inevitable, they say, and they ask people to remain patient.

"Fuel supplies are believed to be very low in Gloucestershire and we would advise the public to make sure that they have sufficient fuel for their return journey, especially when travelling at night," they say.

Meanwhile the list of services being cancelled was growing rapidly and many events were being put on hold.

The county's mobile library vans were off the road and facilities such as Bream's Voluntary Car service used by many people to attend local hospitals were temporarily grounded.

With fears growing that shops and supermarkets would quickly run out of supplies, customers flocked to local shops to stock up. "It's like Christmas here," said a supermarket manager.