Posted on June 13, 2008 by Fiona Hilliard

UK car hire drivers are being urged not to buy unnecessary fuel as more than 600 tanker drivers begin a four day strike. 

The Shell delivery drivers walked out at 6am this morning after the union Unite rejected an improved pay offer. 

Unite decided that the pay offer from Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport, who employ the drivers, was “not sufficient.”

Union members have set up picket lines outside a number of Shell sites at oil terminals across the UK, including Stanlow, Avonmouth, Plymouth, Pembroke, Cardiff, Kingsbury, Basildon, Grangemouth, Aberdeen, Inverness, Jarrow and Luton Airport. 

Unite said it expected the knock-on effect to be felt almost immediately. 

Already there have been reports of higher than usual demand at petrol stations.  The UK Petrol Industry Association has estimated that demand for fuel was 30% higher than average for the time of year.