British motorists are leaving their cars at home after record rises in the price of fuel. Petrol retailers say that fuel sales dropped sharply over the past few weeks.

Figures suggest demand for petrol in Britain has slumped by as much as 20 per cent over the past year.

And drivers faced further misery this weekend after it was confirmed that a tanker strike would go ahead.

The action over pay is expected to disrupt deliveries to Shell petrol stations and could produce fuel shortages.

But Prime Minister Gordon Brown is urging motorists not to panic and to continue to buy fuel “as normal”.

A UK Petroleum Industry Association spokesman said: “We are worried that motorists will descend on filling stations needlessly.

Meanwhile, motorists are turning to public transport as their cars become too expensive to run, according to the International Energy Agency, part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

IEA chief oil analyst Eduardo Lopez said: “British motorists are clearly driving less. They are switching to public transport, which is much easier to do in Britain than in America.”