Fuel protestors picket refinery
Campaigners against the level of fuel duty have picketed a Shell refinery in Cheshire.
The protestors, who also organised blockades of petrol stations in 2000, are hoping the action will make fuel costs an issue at the forthcoming general election.
David Handley, one of the founders of the Farmers for Action group, is angry that the Government has done little to maintain its 2000 promise to examine escalating fuel prices.
“What we are trying to do is bring this to the attention of the politicians,” said Mr Handley.
“Everyone out there on low wages is paying an enormous price. It’s over £4 a gallon of unleaded. Where is all this money going?”
So far the picket, at Shell’s giant Stanlow oil refinery, which consists of 14 tractors and about 20 people, has succeeded in stopping one tanker.
The protest began at 05:00 BST and police from the Cheshire constabulary confirmed they were at the scene before the picketers arrived.
A spokeswoman for the force attempted to allay fears that the protest would cause similar levels of disruption as those in 2000, which brought the country to a near standstill after diesel hit 84.2p a litre.
“The road is not blocked and tankers from the fuel depot are accessing and leaving the site routinely. There is no threat to any petrol supplies in any garages,” she said.
Petrol rose by an average of 4p a litre last month to 85.92p a litre, while the cost of diesel has also spiralled to 90.03p a litre, according to latest statistics from the AA.
The increase in fuel prices has come from the rising price of crude oil as the Government has frozen the annual inflation increase on fuel in recent budgets.
