There was no evidence of panic buying from drivers, or profiteering from garage owners during the strike, though queues did develop at both Rothesay filling stations towards the end of last week.

Jimmy Duncan of W. & J. Duncan in Mill Street told us: "Ca' canny is the local attitude. All last week we had quite a run, and we are currently restricting drivers to £10 of unleaded or £20 of diesel - we have to ensure that we have sufficient stocks for emergency vehicles because we are a designated garage, but we have taken a full delivery today."

The strike also led to the unique situation where Rothesay's filling stations were selling at the same price as, or even cheaper than, outlets on the mainland.

Bute Motor Company's David Reid told us that he had received a full delivery at the weekend, and was monitoring sales, with priority given to business customers but, as went to press on Tuesday, he did not envisage any problems as long as island drivers continued to act sensibly.

"Highland Fuels have a contingency plan for petrol shortages," David said, "but they have not had to bring it into play.

"Their representative in Inverness told me that we are over the worst. She also said that average prices in Inverness currently are £1.17 for a litre of diesel and £1.20 for a litre of unleaded."

Meanwhile, Caledonian MacBrayne assured ferry passengers that it had contingency plans in place should the Grangemouth strike escalate, allowing lifeline services to Bute and throughout its west coast network to be maintained.