Fuel protest: Hauliers converge on London

HORDES of hauliers brought their fuel protest to London today in an attempt to get the Government to reduce prices at the pump.

With their lorry horns blaring and carrying placards, the hauliers lined up along a specially-closed section of the A40 close to the heart of the capital.

First to arrive was Jose Girvan, 36, from Ruislip, Middlesex, who is a driver with transport services company KJS based at Iver, Buckinghamshire.

Talking alongside his cab as motorists passing by hooted their support, Mr Girvan said: "Prices are just getting higher and higher and higher. The Government has got to cut the duty on diesel, they really must do something.

"I'm a family man, I have a mortgage. My job is not as secure as it was."

He was accompanied by father of three Robert Lavender, 40, also from Ruislip, who also drove a KJS lorry to today's demo.

Mr Lavender said: "The prices at the moment are ridiculous. Our lorries only do about six to eight miles to the gallon and our fleet of five trucks is costing us about £3,000 a week just on fuel."

Lined up close behind the Iver-based lorries was John Davis, 49, from Grays, Essex, who is a driver with the Clearserve truck company based at Tilbury, Essex.

A member of the Territorial Army who has served in Iraq with the Royal Signals, Mr Davis said today: "Prices have got out of hand and the consumer will eventually pay the price because food costs will rise.

"I think this is a good time to protest. People are feeling the pinch and it's up to the Government to step in and help out where it can. Every time the fuel goes up, tax revenue goes up with it."

Father-of-three Kerry Calver, 47, from Clacton, Essex, arrived in a lorry owned by the M&M Grab Hire company from Capel St Mary, near Ipswich.

He said: "This is a family-run business of about 12 vehicles. Our lorries cost about £95,000 a go. Prices at the moment are just crippling businesses.

"If the Government could just lower the rate of duty it would help a lot. People may not like lorries but virtually everything is delivered by lorries."

Organisers were hoping that as many as 600 to 1,000 lorries would eventually line up along the A40 which was closed from 10am until 3pm today on the eastbound carriageway between White City and Edgware Road in west London.

The hauliers were due to stage a rally at Marble Arch and then later a delegation was handing a letter in at 10 Downing Street.

The first of the lorries arrived in position on the A40 just before 10am today.

Earlier, a convoy of around 90 hauliers had set off from the Medway Services on the A2 in Kent. It was thought that about 150 lorries travelled in today from Essex and about 100 from Bedfordshire, with truckers also expected from many other parts of the country.