THE partial lifting of blockades at fuel terminals looks unlikely to produce a quick solution for the bulk of motorist in Ledbury and Bromyard.

Garage operators around the district still have no firm information about the arrival of supplies and some say it could be weeks before the situation gets back to normal.

Fuel tankers were due to be back making local deliveries yesterday (Thursday), according to a statement from the county planning group representing the emergency and public services.

But that fuel is earmarked for emergency and essential services.

Meanwhile, petrol stations remain dry and police are urging the public to conserve fuel, use public transport, car share or work from home.

Both the Homend Garage and Parkway Garage in Ledbury ran out of fuel on Monday, as motorists responded to the crisis by filling up.

Mr Ron Hatton, the MD of Hill Fuels Ltd, which owns the Homend Garage, said he still had no information about when the next fuel delivery would be.

"Nothing has changed substantially. Shell are telling us they have nothing to tell us," he said. "We have to prepare a fire certificate when a delivery is made, because the man puts the fuel into the ground himself. Shell gives us a call to tell us he's on his way. We've not received that call. We can't provide at lot of hope at the moment."

At Hill Fuels itself, off the Bromyard Road, the company's own stored supplies of diesel were expected to run dry this weekend, unless the situation eased. Mr Hatton said the firm had been attempting to conserve supplies by rationing deliveries.

"We've been delivering less than people order to farmers and to domestic central heating systems. Things are getting tight," he said.

At Parkway Garage, manager David Eversham was hoping for a fuel delivery by a single tanker sometime over the weekend.

But he said: " We're going to have to ration the first load, otherwise we will run out within a day. It could be a fortnight before we are back to normal."

Meanwhile, rail operators have reported a big increase in passengers and supermarkets have been faced with incidents of panic buying, particularly bread and milk. Traffic on roads has been light, with the M5 operating at about 25 per cent of normal traffic on Wednesday.

Organisers of the Bromyard Folk Festival insist the show must go on in the face of the fuel crisis .

They have responded to the crisis by contacting morris dance teams and arranging for a coash service to operate between the Worcester rail stations and the festival site, off the Stourport Road. The coach will begin to operate from late Friday, matching train arrival times where possible.

Festival spokesman Annie Jones said: "The marquees are there. They have been delivered and we haven't heard that any of the performers can't make it; so that is brilliant."

By Wednesday, around 90 per cent of the tickets had been sold and visitor numbers are expected to be only slightly down. Two folk fans are still planning to travel from Stafford, get married in Bromyard Register Office and spend their honeymoon at the festival.