In classic "run on the bank" scenes, some were seeking reassurance but most were looking remove their money.

Scenes across Yorkshire in which queues stretched along high streets have been replicated outside Northern Rock branches throughout the UK despite financial experts issuing statements advising them to panic.

The company's website has also been hit by the volume of internet bankers going online to transfer funds. Lengthy access delays and growing frustration among customers forced Northern to issue reassurance advising customers the website was working, but slowly.

Waiting in the queue outside the Leeds city centre branch with his wife was Terrance McDonald, 71, an ex-miner from Rothwell. He said: "We think it's best if we take it all out, then we've got peace of mind."

Maureen Marfitt, 67, and husband Jack, 72, from New Farland, said: "To be honest, we've got most of our life savings here and we're not happy that we might lose everything. We've never had a day when we haven't worked...but people are living longer so the money's got to last."

Barry Clayton, 68, a part-time decorator from Lofthouse, was planning to withdraw all his money.

"I just want to close my account. Give me my money and let's go...get it paid straight into my bank account."

Northern, the UK's fifth biggest mortgage lender, went to the Bank of England as it warned profits would be up to £147m lower than expected because of the soaring cost of borrowing.

Its shares have today slumped more than 30 per cent.

The offer of emergency aid is rare and this is the first time it has happened since the Bank became independent in 1997.

Northern is yet to draw from the pot on offer, which chief executive Adam Applegarth called "a backstop in case we need to use it", but if it decides to use the money the lender will have to pay it back with interest at 1 per cent above the Bank of England base rate, currently set at 5.75 per cent.

The Newcastle-based group's chief executive Adam Applegarth this morning stressed the Bank's support "reflected a recognition that Northern Rock is solvent".

Commentators have supported his defence of the group and said the situation reflected a general lack of confidence in the financial markets because of the current global credit crisis, rather than any underlying business problems at Northern Rock.

Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers' Association, said: "This isn't about insolvency, this is about a short-term problem that the Northern Rock has in getting liquidity - that is, getting some cash from the normal interbank lending market.

"Northern Rock is not a reckless lender. . . it primarily advances mortgages against good solid houses and the proper regulatory and careful procedures that we have in the UK."

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) stressed the issue facing lenders at the moment was one of liquidity and funding, not lending quality.

CML director general Michael Coogan added: "The Bank of England would not have provided the loan to Northern Rock if it had concerns about the quality of the lender's own business."

A spokesman for Gordon Brown said the Prime Minister has been kept appraised of the situation and added: "As the Treasury and the Chancellor have been making clear, the Financial Services Authority has judged that Northern Rock is solvent. This is not an issue about the solvency of Northern Rock.

"There are facilities in place to provide support of this kind and as the Chancellor has said, Northern Rock is the only institution that has approached the Bank of England to request support of this kind."

The spokesman stressed: "The fundamentals of the economy remain sound."

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FINANCIAL CRISIS OR PANIC:

Q: Why does Northern Rock need emergency funding?

A: High levels of defaults on US sub-prime mortgages, lent to people who would be turned down by mainstream banks, has caused widespread volatility in international financial markets.

Northern Rock is heavily reliant on wholesale money markets to raise cash for lending. It also raises money through the sale of bonds based on its mortgage debts - so-called asset-backed securities.

Its costs have soared as banks have stopped lending to each other because of market fears over exposure to potential losses on high-risk US mortgages.

Q: How is the bank still going to make a £500 million profit if it has had to ask for emergency funding?

A: The bank has asked for emergency funding because the credit market has dried up. However, this is a short-term issue and the underlying business remains sound and solvent. And although Northern Rock has agreed the emergency funding it has not yet had to use it.

Q: I have savings with Northern Rock, should I move them?

A: Financial experts are urging savers not to panic. Northern Rock has a short-term liquidity problem, but the Bank of England would not have given it the funding if it was not solvent.

Q: But what will happen if large numbers of people withdraw their savings?

A: Northern Rock will be expecting some savers to withdraw their money, and this expectation will be reflected in the funding agreed with the Bank of England.

Q: I have applied for a mortgage with Northern Rock, will I be affected?

A: No, Northern Rock has said that borrowers will not be affected by the current situation. People who have already had new mortgages approved should receive their funds without a problem.

Q: Are any other banks going to have to apply for emergency funding?

A: Obviously this will depend upon how long the crisis continues, but Northern Rock is funded in a very different way to most banks. Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester both also get some mortgage funding in this way but are less reliant on it than Northern Rock.

Bradford & Bingley has stressed it is well-funded, having completed sizeable securitisation and covered bond transactions in May and June.

Alliance & Leicester recently said the current problems had not had a "material impact" on it. Its £52 billion worth of loans are also backed by £30 billion of deposits from savers.

Q: What would happen to savings customers if a major bank did go bankrupt?

A: Anybody who loses money as a result of a firm which is regulated by the Financial Services Authority going bankrupt is entitled to compensation through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. This pays savers the first £2,000 of any money they have lost in full, as well as 90% of the next £33,000.