Fuel protests in Spain

Spanish truckers began an indefinite strike over rocketing fuel prices on Monday, smashing windscreens of vehicles that crossed picket lines and Spaniards stockpiled petrol over fears of shortages.

Long lines of trucks formed on the Spanish-French border, Spanish television showing pictures of vehicles with broken windscreens, lights ripped out and tyres punctured after they tried to defy the strike.

Long queues formed outside Spanish petrol stations and at some hypermarkets, and truckers say supermarkets will run out of goods within days once the strike bites.

The truckers have put up blockades throughout Spain in their call for assistance to cope with a more than a 35 percent increase in fuel costs this year.

Truckers' leaders dismissed a government offer of credit lines and other measures for drivers on Sunday as insufficient.