PETROL stations across Britain were running dry last night as David Cameron was accused of presiding over a "shambles", with some forecourts being forced to close and others rationing sales.

The Prime Minister was criticised after his ministers gave conflicting advice. After one had urged motorists to stockpile petrol in jerry cans, another said this was a mistake and the advice was withdrawn.

Then, Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary, suggested drivers keep their tanks two-thirds full and top them up whenever they hit the half-way mark.

The advice came despite the fact that a strike before Easter now looks impossible. Talks to settle the dispute are not due at Acas, the conciliation service, until Monday and by law the tanker drivers' union has to give seven days' notice of action.

Panic-buying by motorists even led to rising fuel prices in some areas.

Senior members of the Scottish Government attended a meeting of the resilience committee yesterday to address the issue, with a spokesman later saying: "The Scottish Government will continue to build on the substantial contingency arrangements already in place on the areas where we have responsibility, including public transport, emergency services, education and agriculture."

After Mr Cameron on Wednesday sought to calm the rising sense of panic – yet still urged motorists to "top up" their tanks – petrol sales soared by 81%.

The advice from Francis Maude, the Cabinet Minister, for people to stockpile petrol resulted in a 500% increase in the sale of jerry cans.

Labour condemned ministers for creating a "shambolic and shameful 48 hours". Its leader Ed Miliband said the UK Government "should apologise for the crass and chaotic handling of the situation".

Chancellor George Osborne hit back, insisting it was the responsibility of ministers to "make sensible contingency plans" and stressing how it was also the responsibility of the trade unions to call off their strike action, noting: "It's the last thing Britain needs at a time like this."

Motoring organisations put the public's panicked response in some parts of Britain squarely at the door of the Coalition.

The AA pointed out that if every one of the UK's 30 million motorists took Mr Davey's advice and topped up their half-full tanks, then the usual daily sale of 90 million litres of petrol would rocket to 750 million.

"There is no fuel tanker strike and, therefore, if drivers followed normal fuel-buying patterns, there would be no fuel shortage whatsoever," said Edmund King, president of the AA.

"We now have self-inflicted shortages due to poor advice about topping up the tank and hoarding in jerry cans. This in turn has led to localised shortages, queues and some profiteering at the pumps." He urged motorists to ignore ministers' advice and "follow their normal fuel-buying patterns".

The Petrol Retailers Association, which represents around 5500 garages, also blamed Government advice on keeping tanks topped up for panic-buying at some petrol stations.

"This is exactly what we didn't want: people panic-buying. Deliveries are still being made to garages and we are advising people to continue with their normal buying habits," said a spokesman. Meantime, the Chief Fire Officers Association of Scotland issued a warning against taking "unnecessary risks" with stockpiling fuel.

David Dalziel, the Chief Fire Officer, said: "The safety of the public and our firefighters is our priority, and we would ask that the public focus on keeping themselves safe and not putting their families or our firefighters at an increased risk."

In Dorset, police asked petrol stations to close temporarily to stop motorists "queuing irresponsibly" and causing a danger to others. In Cambridge, drivers were rationed at some filling stations to £10 per car, while in Hampshire the authorities said "spurious rumours" online were fuelling panic-buying.

At Westminster, Baroness Warsi, the Conservative Party co-chairman, sought to paint Labour as irresponsible for not condemning the strike call by Unite, the party's main donor.

She said: "More than half of Labour MPs have had their campaigns bankrolled by the trade union threatening to disrupt the lives of millions."