CHRIS MOONEY AND NICOLA STOW

PETROL giant Shell has drawn up plans to close its service stations in the Capital during the summer's G8 protests amid fears they will be attacked by anarchists.

The move, which follows a similar decision by McDonald's, has raised fears of the city grinding to a standstill during the first week in July with businesses across Edinburgh shutting down.

Shell, which has 14 service stations within a five-mile radius of the city centre, plans to board up shop windows and erect security fences at key sites.

The action would be taken from Saturday, July 2, when 200,000 people are expected to descend on the Capital for a protest march against Third World debt. The demonstration and other G8-related protests are expected to attract a minority of potentially violent activists to the city for several days around that weekend.

Motoring organisations today warned drivers to prepare ahead of the summit so they are not caught without fuel. Any petrol shortage could be particularly disruptive to families as the protests are due to take place at the start of the school holidays.

Shell's decision threatens to affect some of the Capital's busiest petrol stations, including outlets at Maybury and on Glasgow Road. Other stations which could be affected include those at Dalry Road, Seafield Road, Leith Walk, Morningside, Crewe Toll and Stenhouse Road. Today, city leader Donald Anderson said there was a danger of businesses overreacting. He said: "I would urge any businesses which are thinking about shutting down to seek advice from police before doing so."

But SNP justice spokesman and Lothians MSP Kenny MacAskill, pictured, said: "There is a great likelihood of a cascading effect with other companies following suit. I just hope Edinburgh is not going to resemble an armed camp. This is hardly going to be a showcase for the city and it could also be damaging to our tourist trade."

One retailer who runs a Shell station shop as a franchise said closing for the weekend of the protest march and the three-day summit which follows could cost him around £170,000.

He said: "Shell are panicking and retailers have been told they are going to board up their sites in the city. They think protestors coming for G8 will trash the stations because they are a prime target. Shell has 70 per cent of the Edinburgh marketplace and all its stations could be closed for five days."

Organisers of the Make Poverty History march say the demonstration will be peace-ful, but protest leaders have admitted there is likely to be a "rogue element" of anarchists.

A Shell spokeswoman said: "We are currently working with the police and other authorities to ensure the safety of our staff and customers during the G8 summit. We have not ruled out the possibility of closing some sites for a limited period. In the event of closures we will do everything in our powers to limit disruption to customers."