Drivers fed up with the cost of fuel at the forecourts are trying to organise a blockade of the two Severn Bridges on July 4.
A Facebook group called Fuel Price Stand Against Tax has mushroomed in recent weeks as the price of fuel has approached £2 a litre, and increasing numbers of people are calling for some kind of direct action to protest about this.
Post on social media calling for people to protest have been shared more than 1,000 times, and a date of July 4 - the first Monday in July - has been set for a ‘blockade’ of the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge and the M48 Severn Bridge to draw attention to ‘ridiculous’ costs of fuel.
Read more: How are rising fuel prices affecting you?
The idea of blocking motorways is controversial though - even within the protest groups - with many pointing out that the same people calling for the protests were recently slating Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain protesters for doing the same thing on motorways around London.
A spokesperson for National Highways - formerly Highways England - confirmed the Government agency was aware of the plans and will “work hard to limit the effects of the protests”, which are planned for July 4, on the bridges.
Posts on social media calling for people to protest have been shared more than 1,000 times, but others in the group who are against the tactic of staging road block demonstrations have shared new posts calling the demonstrations off, so it remains unclear whether the demonstration will take place at all.
How do you feel about this proposed protest? Tell us in the comments section.
One commenter said: “I work for a local haulage company. We use approximately 30,000 litres of diesel every fortnight so I fully understand the cost of fuel at this time. However action such as this may highlight the issue to government but it will not impact them in the slightest.
“It will impact on the supply chain affecting local businesses and local people as deliveries to shops won’t be made and people won’t be able to get to work. If you want to make a point why not bring Westminster to gridlock?”
A campaigner responded: “For one second I thought you were going to say you’d be supporting the action with your fleet. The point of this action is to show the government that we aren’t the little people that will sit there and do nothing.
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“Something this big will be heard. It will make the news. I’m not happy to sit back and let the government think they can get away with this.”
John Ingram, National Highways’ network planner for resilience, told Wales Online: “We respect people’s right to protest. However protesting on the strategic road network is extremely dangerous not just for the protesters but for people using the roads.”
A spokesman for the body added: "Along with the police and other partners we’ll be working hard to limit the effects of the protests on the Severn Bridges. We’ll be doing all we can to keep people up to date with the latest traffic information and to keep drivers on the move."
