Motorists in Britain are lining up for hours to buy oil amid fears of a new shortage as protesters prickled by hiking prices threatened to block major refineries in the country.

Hour-long queues started mounting up in gas stations in Yorkshire in central Britain, and northeast part of London, Sky news reported on Monday.

Petrol prices, some now well over a pound (1.83 US dollars) a liter, are likely to be forced higher as the refinery and pipelines in the US Gulf remain hobbled in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The transport union is pressing Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown to cut oil tax while some protesters have warned of a week of blockade on Britain's road, but Brown has dismissed the hiking oil prices as "a global problem."

Campaigners from the Fuel Lobby have given the government three days until Wednesday to meet them and threaten to block all British refineries if their demand is not met.

The action may coincide with the anniversary of the similar blockades that brought Britain to a standstill in 2000.

However, legislation introduced five years ago has granted ministers and police significant new power to deal with such demonstrations.

Source: Xinhua