Friday 8th September 2000

The fuel protests which had crippled France the previous week reached Britain with a series of actions across the country. The protesters – mainly road hauliers and farmers – displayed their anger at Europe’s highest fuel prices, which were due to rise another 2p per litre within days. There was a 100 lorry “go-slow” protest on the A1 in Tyne and Wear and a convoy of 200-300 people set off to Wales to block the Texaco refinery near Pembroke.