Concerns over strike action at the Grangemouth Oil Refinery, Scotland's main fuel supplier, had resulted in an increase in sales at petrol stations.

Tesco's Inverurie petrol station temporarily ran out of fuel during Monday (April 21) afternoon, and Morrisons' Inverurie store saw queues of cars waiting to fill up. Tesco took the step of introducing security staff to ensure a steady flow of traffic at the pumps and keep the entrance to the store free of congestion.

A spokesperson for Tesco informed the Herald: "We're closely monitoring the situation and Tesco is working hard to limit the effects of the ongoing refinery dispute on Scottish customers. While there has been a pick-up in trade over the past couple of days we believe our customers are taking a sensible approach and there is certainly no need for fuel stockpiling."

A spokesperson for Morrisons said that customers should not be concerned about availability as they do not get all their fuel from the Grangemouth facility.

The spokesperson added: "Morrisons sources fuel from supply locations in Scotland other than just Grangemouth. We also have good levels of stock in the tanks in our forecourts.

"We do not foresee any issues with the supply of petrol and diesel to our customers. However, we would ask that to avoid the risk of shortages and unnecessary queuing caused by panic buying, people are sensible when purchasing their fuel."

At the time the Herald went to press, talks between the Unite union and Ineos, who operate the refinery, were still ongoing at the offices of Acas, the conciliation service, in London. Politicians north and south of the border had called upon both sides to stick with negotiations. The Scottish Government have tabled an offer to provide an independent pensions expert to help settle the dispute.

An amicable outcome to the dispute would head off threatened strike action planned for Sunday and Monday. The dispute arose over plans by Ineos to end its final salary pension scheme for new workers, along with other changes.

A spokesperson for the Petrol Retailers Association assured motorists that there was plenty of fuel stocks outwith the Grangemouth refinery and again called for people to act sensibly and not to panic buy.