RUMOURS of more petrol protests at oil refineries brought chaos to petrol stations throughout Bolton.

The rumours were denied by the oil companies, the police and petrol retailers.

It is believed the rumours, which quickly spread throughout the country, were started by mischief makers using the Internet.

Queues of cars at petrol stations blocked roads throughout Bolton.

Police -- who advised one local garage to close until the traffic was cleared from the road outside -- described the situation as "chaotic."

Motorists throughout Greater Manchester faced long queues as whispers of a second fuel shortage swept the region.

Police were called in to monitor long lines of drivers waiting to fill up in Altrincham after rumours spread that the area which suffered first from the initial protests almost two weeks ago would once again run dry.

A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said the force had contingency plans in place in case of any further fuel protests, and some officers had been deployed around the city's fuel terminal at Trafford Park.

"Panic buying of petrol is causing gridlock to traffic around Greater Manchester and causing wider traffic problems."

Putting officers in place to monitor the situation was "purely a precautionary measure" and the force had no evidence to suggest the latest panic-buying was caused by anything other than rumour, she said.

Shadow transport minister Bernard Jenkin said: "This kind of public reaction shows that people have no faith that the Government has solved this crisis.

"Ordinary people can see that the Government needs to get real on fuel duties, not to get more Government powers."