Motorists this afternoon have turned to Beccles for petrol and diesel with some travelling from Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft to get fuel.

The petrol stations in the market town have seen an increase in trade during the day, but not the long queues seen in other places in the region.

However, as the day has gone on the BP garage on the A146, in nearby Gillingham, have said that they have got increasingly busy as customers drive miles to get their fuel from them.

A spokesman said: 'Everyone was coming in saying that all of them in Norwich and Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft are all out of fuel.'

The station has been at least three times busier than normal, and despite a tanker visit in the morning they are in need of another visit later tonight or early tomorrow morning.

At 2pm all pumps at Tesco, Morrisons and Total garages in the town were in use, with only one or two cars waiting in line.

A spokesman for the Morrisons station, in George Westwood Way, said they had seen queues for the last three days, with today 40-50pc busier than normal, however they had no problem with the supply.

In Halesworth, Hammond garage, in Norwich Road, ran out of diesel this afternoon but have a delivery scheduled for today, while the Co-operative filling station in Saxons Way, Halesworth, also have queues and expect to run out of diesel.

Queues have also been seen at the Co-operative filling station in Hillside Road East, in Bungay however no-one from the station was prepared to comment on the subject.

The threatened strike action by drivers in a dispute over terms and conditions and safety standards might be at least a week away, but still motorists flocked to stations to fill their cars with reports of a 45pc increase in the sale of unleaded fuel and a 20pc rise in the sale of diesel.

Andrew Lawrence, who is from Retail Motor Industry (RMI) Petrol, which represents independent petrol stations, said: 'We're extremely busy. Deliveries are just about coping with supply but the more the panic happens the more problems we're going to get in running out of stock... Don't panic – there's plenty of supply if everyone works with a responsible attitude to the filling of their cars.'

Suffolk Police have also warned motorists not to panic buy.

A spokesman said: 'There is currently no shortage of fuel supply nationally or locally and people do not need to depart from their usual purchasing behaviour at this time.

'However, we are aware that demand is increasing at some filling stations around the county which may cause some short-term disruption.

'We remind motorists queuing for fuel that public carriageways must remain clear and not be blocked.

'People can be reassured that there is currently no impact on local policing services.

'We are, in line with Government advice, currently reviewing our contingency plans to ensure our services can be protected and maintained in the event of strike action.'