FURIOUS pig farmers from North and East Yorkshire blockaded a supermarket depot, claiming pork imports were driving them out of business.

A convoy of 25 farmers targeted Tesco's giant distribution depot, in Doncaster, to vent their anger - and promised further protests.

With both entrance and exit gates blocked, about 80 Tesco lorries were forced to park on a dual carriageway in the early hours of yesterday.

Police were called in, but decided to keep a watching brief until the farmers left at about 1.30am.

Farmer Fred Henley, of Seaton Ross, near Pocklington, said: "This protest was a wake-up call to all those supermarket chains who appear to be importing more and more pig meat.

"It may be cheaper, but we believe that an increasing percentage of overseas pork does not meet the high welfare standards that we have to meet in the UK.

"The message we got was that supermarkets would pay the proper price for British pork if it met these welfare standards and now they appear to be reneging on that commitment.

"We spent a lot of money on rehousing sows - all we want is to be treated fairly."

National Pig Association chairman Richard Longthorp, of Howden, near Selby, said: "We got a commitment from the major retailers to stick to British fresh pork, but imports continue to increase.

"We have written to the retailers and are awaiting their response."

A Tesco spokesman said: "We still source 96 per cent of our pig meat from the UK, but we have to import some because there just aren't enough British pigs to meet demand."

A Safeway spokeswoman said they, too, faced a problem of availability of UK pork.

Updated: 09:53 Saturday, July 19, 2003