Here we go again

Drivers have been "queuing round the block" to snap up cheap fuel as petrol stations brace themselves for a carbon copy of the 2000 fuel protests.

Campaigning group Fuel Lobby has vowed to blockade every refinery in the country on Wednesday if the Government fails to act over the soaring cost of petrol - which the Evening Press revealed on Tuesday had crashed through the £1 barrier in York.

And today Alan Wright of the hauliers Wrights of Crockey Hill, said that if a blockade was organised, he would be taking part. He said: "I will take part in the blockade if it happens, or in a go-slow convoy round York."

Mr Wright said: "The Government has to recognise there was chaos at the pumps last time and there will be chaos again this time."

He said that even if the actions caused chaos in the short-term for motorists in York, it would be worth while in the long run.

Asda's filling station in Huntington said pumps had been "going non-stop all day" on Wednesday after word-of-mouth spread that a litre of unleaded petrol cost only 89.9p, although the rock-bottom price rose to 90.9p by the end of the day.

At the Spaceway Services BP petrol station in the York Business Park, where a litre of Ultimate unleaded is just 0.1p away from the £1 mark, staff there said they could feel trouble brewing.

Employee Matthew Tidy said: "I'm preparing myself for petrol strikes. It's surely only a matter of time now."

Meanwhile, the BP petrol station in Boroughbridge Road, York, reported huge queues of motorists on Tuesday, when a litre of premium-brand Ultimate petrol cost 99p.

Employee Angie Alexander said: "It was really, really busy on Tuesday, after news of increases broke. People were obviously coming in to stock up. There was definitely some panic buying going on.

"Our price went up past the £1 mark for a litre of Ultimate yesterday though.

"Many people will be pleased that they got in just in time, but even more will be kicking themselves that they missed out."

Elsewhere in York, a Jet garage worker described the scene as "hectic," while a Tesco employee said there were "queues around the block".

In Pocklington, Jordan's petrol station in Barmby Road is charging 95.9p for a litre of unleaded.

Manager Tom Massey said: "Customers are always mentioning fuel prices to us when they come in. People want to know what's causing the price increases, when they might go down again and, most of all, whether there will be a strike like there was in 2000.

"There's no full-scale panic yet, but there is definitely a great deal of concern out there."

:: Hauliers primed to man the blockades

ALAN Wright, of the hauliers Wrights of Crockey Hill, said that if fresh blockades were organised, he would be taking part.

Mr Wright said: "I will take part in the blockade if it happens, or in a go-slow convoy round York. I will probably send a couple of lorries out on it.

"It's not just for Wrights of Crockey Hill and for the haulage industry - it's for everybody. The rising cost of fuel will affect everybody - even if you don't have a car. Bread will cost more, shoes will cost more. Bus fares will go up."

He said that even if the actions caused chaos in the short-term for motorists in York, it would be worth while in the long run.

He said his business, which runs a fleet of nine or ten lorries and vans, was suffering from high diesel prices. "We would normally just have one increase a year, accounting for fuel, wages and so on, but if diesel carries on at the present rate of almost £1 a litre, we will have to go back to our customers and ask if they can absorb another increase."

Roy Handley, of A1 Plant & Haulage (York) Ltd, of Elvington, saidMr Handley said: "I would be prepared to join the blockade if I have got to."

He said the best location for a road blockade would be the A64 Scarborough road on a Sunday morning, when motorists were heading for the coast from West Yorkshire.

:: A repeat performance beckons

As campaigners threaten to launch new protests over the soaring costs of fuel Chief Reporter MIKE LAYCOCK looks back at what happened in York and North and East Yorkshire last time around and what might happen again.

IT WAS five years ago this month that Britain was almost brought to its knees by go-slow convoys and blockades of roads and refineries.

The protesters sparked an extraordinary panic at the pumps across York and North Yorkshire.

Long queues developed outside filling stations, with motorists desperate that their vehicles might run dry - and with good reason. A blockade of a refinery at Immingham by eight lorries led to the cancellation of deliveries to York filling stations.

As drivers filled up their tanks, garages began running out of fuel. Some introduced rationing, while others simply closed down after their tanks ran out.

Bus services came under imminent risk of disruption, while emergency services made arrangements for supplies to be kept back for them.

In York, major bus operator First York prepared plans for an emergency service after fuel failed to arrive, while North Yorkshire Police said individual stations had made arrangements with garages to keep fuel back for police vehicles.

The ripple effects of the week-long action spread into other areas of life. York health trust managers met to discuss the possible impact on patients. In some parts of the country, hospitals even had to cancel operations as supplies were reduced and staff found it difficult to get into work.

Supermarkets experienced panic buying of essentials such as bread and milk, hotels and coach holiday bookings were cancelled and some firms had to lay off staff.

On the York outer ring road, motorists suffered massive jams on September 12 after about 20 hauliers and farmers went on a go-slow protest convoy.

The convoy, which included articulated lorries, skip wagons and even a tractor, was escorted by police as it left Monks Cross at 8am.

As it headed west at 5mph, a two-mile tailback of hundreds of vehicles quickly built up behind. Some drivers honked their horns and waved in support, while one driver shouted: "Give it to 'em!" Small groups of residents even gathered at roundabouts to cheer on the convoy.

The organiser of the protest, Tony Adams, an independent trucker from Tockwith, said the "ridiculous" cost of fuel was crippling him.

The protests then were about prices reaching as high as 85p a litre.

But, as the Evening Press revealed this week, the cost of a litre of Super Unleaded has now shot through the £1 barrier in York, after Hurricane Katrina devastated refineries in America. Ordinary unleaded and diesel is selling at 99.9 pence in garages in the countryside.

So what are the prospects of a repeat of the 2000 protests next week?

Farmer and haulier Andrew Spence, from County Durham, spokesman for the Fuel Lobby, said refineries will be blockaded from 6am on Wednesday unless the Government cuts tax on fuel. "There won't be a refinery in the country left open," he said.

The Treasury has indicated there is no chance of it cutting the taxes, saying the biggest priority must be restoring production in America and increasing production by OPEC to cut prices.

But will the blockades win the support of hauliers from the York area?

Liam Quinn, of Quinn's Transport Ltd of Shipton-by-Beningbrough, said he would not take part, because he thought such action would end up "hurting the wrong people" - the general public - rather than the Government.

But he said that, if asked to do so by the Road Haulage Association, he would park up his vehicles for a week to show the country how important a service was provided by hauliers.

Since 2000, he had reduced his fleet of lorries from 13 to three, because of the cost of fuel, and had diversified instead into other areas, such as renting out storage.

Updated: 08:19 Friday, September 09, 2005