Fuel strike: more chaos at the pumps In Cambridge, garages were asking drivers to spend at least £25 each at the pumps to stop queues of people who just wanted to top up. A BP filling station in the city centre imposed the minimum after it found some customers were queuing for just £5 worth of fuel. Drivers in Bournemouth were also left frustrated after police closed a garage minutes after it took an 8,000-litre delivery of fuel because it attracted a quarter of a mile long queue. Officers closed the garage for half an hour to ease congestion while at least 10 other petrol stations in Christchurch, Bournemouth, Weymouth and Dorchester had to be shut down by police. A spokesman for the Murco garage said: "Usually we sell about 70,000 litres a week but I have just been refuelled with 8,000 litres. It will sell out within two or three hours judging by the long queue. I get deliveries twice a week but they are coming every day at the moment. Pc Andy Steele, an officer who was at the garage, said: "The station is closed due to the high demand. There are no problems with deliveries, they are the same as normal, but people are panicking and filling up when they don't need to. It's an absolute overreaction. Meanwhile, thieves tried to cash in on fears of a shortage. Police in Wiltshire sent out a helicopter to track a man who appeared to be trying to siphon fuel from cars parked in the village of Manton, near Marlborough. A police spokesman said "With the help of the helicopter and its heat-seeking detection device, a man was located nearby and arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal. Suspicions were aroused when a van was spotted with a tank in the back and equipment used to remove fuel from tanks was discovered. The force helicopter was called in and a male was found hiding nearby. The AA said it was concerned drivers were wasting money while sitting in queues for fuel they could ill afford. Luke Bosdet, AA spokesman, said: "It almost beggars belief. You've got this whole dynamic where drivers are unable to afford the fuel in quantities they used to buy it and those drivers, most of whom are having difficulties, are trying to get into garages to buy fuel that they may not otherwise have bought at prices, which are heading towards record levels and that, I think, has got to be a tragedy.