FUEL protesters in the South have vowed not to be beaten after the government unveiled plans to beat any new blockades.

Home Secretary Jack Straw yesterday pledged to safeguard food supplies, keep major roads open and protect tanker drivers if fuel protests are resumed.

He confirmed that soldiers had been trained to drive tankers as a last resort.

But protesters who blockaded Fawley refinery in Hampshire in September have declared they will not be beaten.

Haulier Steve Butler accused the government of not addressing the real problems.

"If they spent as much time in sorting out the fuel problem as they have sorting out how to deal with protests, then we wouldn't be in this situation," he said.

"We would rather work with the government than against them, but it seems like they are putting up a barrier between us.

"We want a more level playing field with the rest of Europe for fuel.

"What the government has been saying recently will probably make people even more determined to do something because they are putting up a front rather than address the real issue.

"The last protests were done off the cuff so I imagine the same will happen again."

Chris Bugler, who acted as spokesman for the Fawley protesters, said they would plan their next move after Gordon Brown's pre-budget report, due next week.

In his statement to the Commons, Mr Straw said the country would be at risk if protesters behaved irresponsibly. He added that the economy was nearly seriously damaged and that it was the government's responsibility to ensure it did not happen again.

Meanwhile petrol pumps ran dry at one Fareham petrol station, one other was closed and huge queues formed at a third garage as the fears of another fuel blockade increased.

A spokesperson for Asda in Newgate Lane told the Echo that the store's petrol pumps were only temporarily out of action.

She said: "We are concentrating on customers in the shop and have closed the petrol station for a short while because the shop is very busy."

Sainsbury's at Broadcut completely ran out of unleaded petrol last night and staff there said they could not rule out rationing. It was expecting a delivery last night.

Both Sainsbury's and Asda told of panic buying in their supermarkets.

Queues outside the Texaco garage in Highlands Road prevented residents from getting to and from their homes easily and caused congestion as far back as the A27.

Staff there said stocks were low, but more deliveries were planned.