British petrol crisis continues to ease

London - The petrol crisis at the pumps continued to ease in Britain yesterday

London - The petrol crisis at the pumps continued to ease in Britain yesterday. The major oil companies were expected to have stocked more than half their outlets by last night, although motorists still faced long queues at the start of the working week.

Esso, Shell, BP, Jet and TotalFinaElf each announced more than half their filling stations should now have stocks, with thousands of tankers continuing to replenish supplies.

The RAC said traffic had been down by 50 per cent during the weekend, reflecting the fuel shortage.