YORK motorists were hit with road chaos, as accidents and roadworks brought traffic to a halt, and panic-buying closed a busy petrol station.

As a three-vehicle smash on the A64 halted traffic for three hours yesterday, a city supermarket ran out of fuel as drivers queued to fill up their tanks during last night's rush hour.

Today, roadworks were causing queueing misery for motorists north of the city.

Drivers faced:

Delays for three hours following a four-vehicle smash on the A64

A "Sorry No Fuel" sign at Tesco at Askham Bar after pumps ran out of petrol

Queues three-deep for fuel after tankers brought in fresh supplies

Further gridlock likely today due to roadworks on the A19 at Shipton-by-Beningbrough

The roads drama came as York's biggest independent petrol retailer urged the Government to cut fuel duties to ward off the prospect of a return to the protests of September 2000.

Graham Kennedy, managing director of Inner Space Stations, also urged anyone planning to stage protests to target the Government and not the ordinary motorist.

He said he could sense a "creeping panic", and wanted to assure drivers that there was no need to stock up on fuel.

But that had little effect at the Tesco store at Askham Bar, where panic buying was blamed for No Fuel signs at the supermarket.

The sign appeared at the end of yesterday's rush hour, while tankers which were due to deliver fresh supplies were stuck in the A64 accident. Within two hours, more fuel had arrived and cars were queuing three deep at the pumps to fill up.

Firefighters had to cut two women out of a car following the crash that brought rush hour chaos to the south of York.

The crash, on the eastbound carriageway of the A64 between the Fulford Road and Grimston Bar interchanges, blocked the road after two cars were in collision with a tractor and trailer shortly before 4pm yesterday.

One of the women, aged 44, had neck and chest injuries, the other had neck pains. Ambulance crews took both to York Hospital.

At Askham Bar, the hold-ups stopped traffic getting out of the car parks around the Tesco superstore. But by 7pm, the roads were clear and traffic was moving normally.

Chancellor Gordon Brown today appeared to leave open the option of postponing a 1.9p a litre petrol increase in September, but that has done little to appease protesters threatening to take their anger onto the streets of Britain's major cities over the next few days.

Mr Kennedy, whose BP filling stations in Boroughbridge Road, Hull Road, Tadcaster Road and the York Outer Ring Road serve more than 40,000 motorists per week, said he did not want to return to the situation four years ago.

"It was just horrendous," he said.

"It was completely stressful. We quickly ran an emergency service, but what was an emergency?

"We got people ringing up saying they couldn't get their child to hospital. I would like to see duties cut."

Updated: 10:25 Friday, June 04, 2004