Last-minute talks to avert a four-day fuel strike by tanker drivers began today amid fears of petrol shortages and a spread of the disruption caused by protesting truckers in Europe.
Members of the Unite union employed by two firms working on Shell contracts are due to walk out on Friday in a pay dispute that could hit one in 10 filling stations across the UK.
In a last-ditch attempt to avert strike action, talks led by conciliation service Acas are being held at a secret location.
The government has urged drivers not to panic-buy fuel. A Downing Street spokesman said: "We want the public to continue to buy as normal to avoid creating problems that might otherwise not exist."
Contingency plans include allowing suppliers to share information about stocks without falling foul of competition laws.
Fuel supplies to the emergency services would also be maintained in the event of shortages.
The pay row has erupted because members of Unite claim they are paid the same now, just under £32,000 a year, as they were in 1992 despite working an extra 11 hours each week.
Bernie Holloway, spokesman for Hoyer, the largest of the two transport companies involved in the dispute, said it was "disappointing" that Unite had rejected an improved pay offer last week.
"We believe this was a very good offer that would take the average drivers' pay up to around £39,000," he said.
The company said its improved offer was worth 6.8%.
Unite repeated its call for Shell to get involved in the dispute.
Unite assistant general secretary Len McCluskey said: "It is no use Shell bosses, who have enjoyed 15%-plus pay increases in the last year, sitting on their hands.
"They have 72 hours to start focusing on avoiding the disruption this will cause to the general public, who are already mindful of the staggering profits Shell rakes in.
"Shell tanker drivers are earning exactly the same today as they were 15 years ago while working for a company that makes £1.3bn every month, profits our members' hard work helps deliver.
"Unite is saying to Shell bosses: stop hiding behind your sub-contractor and help us sort out a solution."
A spokesman for Shell's business department said it was inevitable that some petrol stations would run out of fuel if the industrial action went ahead.
"If the strike were to affect other retailers it would have a more significant impact," he said.
Meanwhile, fuel protests by lorry drivers in Spain and Portugal have led to the deaths of two pickets, and caused widespread disruption.
One protester was killed when he was run over by a van trying to drive through a picket line in Granada, in southern Spain. Another died in similar circumstances in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.
In Spain, the strike, which started on Monday, has led to the closure of three car factories because delivery of spare parts to them has been suspended, and to shortages of fresh food in Madrid.
