THE Army was put on standby last night as the Prime Minister warned that the deepening fuel crisis was putting "lives at risk".

About 80 tanker lorries from the Army, Navy and RAF were being put on standby near hospitals and other important buildings around the country.

The move came as Tony Blair admitted real damage was now being done and urged the pump price protestors to lift their pickets.

Businesses were crippled up and down the country and supermarkets, including Asda in Hartlepool, started to ration bread and milk as panic buying grew.

Major supermarkets insisted that empty shelves would be restocked this morning and there was no immediate danger of supplies running out in the near future.

But last night, Eddie Stobart, one of the main hauliers transporting food to the country's supermarkets, warned it was 24 hours before his fleet would grind to a halt.

The NHS was put on red alert for the first time in 11 years ready to cancel all but emergency treatment.

Meanwhile, thousands of pupils will be forced to stay at home today as the stand-off paralysed school bus services, with the situation threatening to worsen next week unless supplies get through.

A smattering of petrol stations did begin receiving fresh supplies of fuel during the day but it was a trickle compared with the amount needed to get Britain moving again.

About 500 tankers moved out of oil refineries and depots around the country, many under police escort, with the fuel mainly destined for essential services.

But, a day after Mr Blair said he hoped the situation would be "on the way back to normal" by last night, he admitted that there was a "considerable" way to go. There was little sign of demonstrators abandoning their pickets, with blockades still in place at the Phillips Petroleum depot, Seal Sands, Teesside, as well as Sunderland and many other parts of the country.

However, a deal was struck on Teesside which will allow some fuel to go to firms which supply oil to heat old people's homes and farms.

Lorry drivers opened up a new front, hitting London and other towns and cities with go-slow convoys, as the A1 and A19 were again affected by similar protests.

In a snub to Mr Blair's call for the pickets to end, protestors outside fuel depots across the country, including those in the North-East, vowed to continue their demonstrations.

Earlier Tory leader William Hague called for the immediate recall of Parliament. He urged Mr Blair to "stop taxing and start listening" and added: "Hospital operations are being cancelled. The Post Office may have to stop delivering the mail.

"Children are not getting to school. Millions of motorists cannot move their cars. Undertakers warn that funerals may have to stop within days.

"We haven't seen anything like this since we last had a Labour Government."

Mr Blair said he would not rule out the recall of Parliament, but said his immediate task was to deal with the crisis. He added that he had made it clear, in talks with oil companies, that the onus was on them to get tankers moving