Don't panic!

A rush to stock up with petrol before the fuel deadline caused some stations in north Essex to run dry at the end of last week.

Worried motorists caused a boom day for services as they filled up their cars and canisters in a bid to beat the fuel problems that brought the country to a standstill in September.

With two weeks to go until the end of the 60-day deadline to cut fuel duty some services in the Colchester area reported they were out of both diesel and unleaded.

But they said they expected fresh deliveries on Friday and urged customers to be calm.

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