Fuel price protesters clog up Bristol motorways

Drivers protesting against soaring fuel prices caused delays and disruption to parts of the motorway system in the South West.

A series of ‘rolling road blocks’ took over key motorways near Bristol during peak Monday morning traffic.

Participants, who are calling for a cut in fuel duty, occupied all three lanes and dropped their speed to hold up traffic behind them.

One stretch targeted was the M4 between the city and south Wales, including the Prince of Wales Bridge crossing the River Severn, where campaigners headed for at around 7.30am.

Later on, police closed the bridge and diverted drivers via the M48 Severn Bridge.

A separate group also set off from Bridgwater and made its way towards the Almondsbury Interchange.

Police put plans in place to direct the procession of vehicles, agreeing with drivers beforehand that they must not drive any slower than 30mph or stop on the road.

But, following disruption on the M4, 12 have been arrested for breaching a legal notice issued by police before the protest.

An update has been issued by @gwentpolice in relation to the policing operation they led for the protest that affected the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge this morning.

Both Severn bridges are open and @HighwaysSWEST is reporting the delays have cleared.https://t.co/jPMAlDPK6A

— Avon and Somerset Police (@ASPolice) July 4, 2022

Similar protests were staged in south Wales, Essex, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It is understood they were organised via social media under the banner Fuel Price Stand Against Tax.

The ‘go-slow’ demonstrations were in protest of skyrocketing petrol and diesel prices, exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine which led to sanctions and import bans on its products.

The average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts reached a new high of 191.5p on Sunday, figures from the data firm Experian show. The average price of diesel was 199.0p per litre.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he will consider calls for a “more substantial” fuel duty cut after the 5p per litre reduction implemented in March failed to halt price rises.

All earlier delays have now cleared on the the #M4 and #M48 #SevernBridge @2SevernBridges . Thank you for your patience if you were caught in the delays. Check traffic conditions on your planned journey on our Traffic England webpage – https://t.co/dn6lZSgSOU
Safe travels. pic.twitter.com/BHMAqnzr99

— National Highways: South-West (@HighwaysSWEST) July 4, 2022

Superintendent Paul Wigginton from Avon and Somerset Police said: “Liaison teams engaged with campaigners to enable peaceful protest to take place in a way that minimised disruption. We also supported Gwent Police’s operation on the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge.

“We’d like to thank the public for their patience during any delays they experienced today.”

At around 1.45pm, National Highways South West reported that all earlier delays were cleared on the M4 and M48 Severn Bridge.

Main photo: Fuel Price Stand Against Tax

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