THE region was last night reeling from the effects of the fuel crisis.

Desperate drivers had queued for up to an hour during the day to obtain some of the dwindling supply of fuel, as the petrol stations rapidly ran dry of unleaded, lead replacement and diesel.

Some paid more than £1 a litre as prices continued to rise in some parts of the North-East and North Yorkshire, with service stations and garages reporting queues of up to 60 cars, as "panic buying" spread.

Train operators GNER and Northern Spirit reported more rail travellers and reassured customers that their services would continue, despite fuel shortages.

Emergency services in the region also remained confident they would be able to continue answering 999 calls.

But the strong effect on the region looked likely to worsen today as blockades of refineries continued.

Taxis, trucks and tractors were last night maintaining a vigil at the Total Fina and Sunderland Oil Storage depots at the city's port, after stopping tankers leaving earlier in the day.

Entrances were barricaded late on Monday night following a tip-off that trucks were set to leave at 3am to beat the protests.

Support for the protestors appeared to be strong, with local residents supplying them with cups of tea while passing motorists sounded their horns.

And the hauliers, farmers and drivers warned they would stay put until the Government took action to cut fuel prices.

Sunderland Port manager Frank Major said the protest was good-natured and added police assistance would not be called unless there was a formal complaint from the petrol companies.

Meanwhile, the crisis hit in unexpected areas. At least one local football match had to be cancelled. Newcastle Blue Star FC cancelled its Northern League Cup tie with Chester-le-Street Town last night, because its players did not have enough petrol to reach the ground.

St Teresa's Hospice, in Darlington, has also been forced to cancel day care for its terminally ill patients.

A spokeswoman for the hospice said: "We have had to take the decision to close our day care services because of the petrol shortages for our volunteer drivers.

"We will only be open to day patients who can make their own way here."

A cinematic celebration of motorbikes at Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, due to be hosted tonight by Mick Walker, a writer, racer and ex-editor of Motorbike Enthusiast, was also cancelled because he could not reach his local train station.

Oxfam's national director David Bryer also forced to call off a visit to the North-East. He was to have attended a briefing today with the famine-relief charity's regional pool of volunteers, at Newcastle Racecourse, after calling in at its flagship shop, in Saddler Street, Durham.

But the anticipated difficulty for Oxfam's network of volunteers and helpers reaching the meeting led to yesterday's eleventh hour cancellation of the entire visit.