Queues were building at some Ashby petrol stations last weekend - while some had no fuel at all.

Motorists reacted to supply problems across the country and as they tried to fill up.

There was a long line of vehicles at the Tesco supermarket fuel station in Ashby - with drivers being directed to the nearest free pump.

Drivers also queued on Station Road to get into the Esso station, with diesel and petrol vehicles separated into two lines.

But the BP station at Nottingham Road had their pumps taped up on Friday afternoon with no fuel on offer.

And it was the same story at the Esso service station at Flagstaff Island just off the A42.

But the situation had eased considerably during the week with petrol seemingly available as normal with none of the queues that had been seen at the weekend.

However, there was still a sizeable queue at Tesco on Friday (Oct 1) as some problems with supply persisted.

The BBC website reported on Friday (Oct 1) there has been no improvement in petrol supplies at independent petrol stations since Wednesday, according to industry body the Petrol Retailers Association.

The PRA, which represents independent fuel retailers, said that more than a quarter (27 per cent) of its members' were still out of fuel on Thursday.

That was better than the 37 per cent which were out of fuel on Tuesday, but demand remained higher than usual, it said.

However the AA said it saw signs that the pressure was starting to ease.

The PRA, which represents nearly 5,500 of the UK's 8,300 petrol stations, said Thursday's figures were based on responses from 1,500 stations.

"Trying to calm this down appears to be a monumental task at the moment," said PRA chairman Brian Madderson.

"The surge in demand appears to be continuing," he said. "There's been no easing off of the pressure from drivers wanting to refuel whenever they can, wherever they can."

The UK has been grappling with a fuel crisis that has caused huge queues outside some petrol stations, and forced customers to drive round multiple sites in search of supplies.

While the government and industry said there was enough fuel at UK refineries, a shortage of drivers has slowed the transport of fuel to petrol stations.

The government said it was seeing the "first signs" of demand for fuel stabilising, and stressed there was no shortage of fuel.

The AA also said it saw signs that the pressure on fuel pumps was starting to ease.

The motoring group said that the number of call-outs from drivers who had run out of fuel had initially increased sharply and was "in the hundreds" over the weekend. But it said those numbers were now falling rapidly.

Although some queues remain in London, the South East and some other built-up areas, AA president Edmund King said daily improvements were now visible.

"We believe we have turned the corner," he said.

The PRA told the BBC that it had also received "anecdotal" evidence that the problems were more acute in London and the South East. It said that Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales appeared to be "mostly ok".

The PRA's Mr Madderson said he had written to the government this morning to warn them that the price of petrol and diesel at the pump was likely to rise, after a rise in the price of Brent Crude oil. A fall in the value of the pound against the dollar would also push up prices for UK customers, he said.

"Those two [factors] have already started to impinge on wholesale prices, which have gone up - in the last three nights - by nearly 3p a litre," he said.