HGV drivers in Wales have told of how they have had to leave their jobs in Bristol due to the rising cost of fuel. Former HGV driver Vicky Stamper, 41, from Cwmbran said she and her partner Darren had to leave jobs in Bristol because they could not afford the fuel any longer.
Ms Stamper, 41, told PA news agency: “We had to leave those jobs because it was costing us £380 a week just to get to and from work. I then lost a job two weeks ago because the company couldn’t afford to put fuel in that many lorries so, last in first out.”
She spoke as protesters took to the M4 today (Monday, July 4) to take part in a nationwide protest over the high cost of fuel, with action also taking place on the M5 and M32. Protesters staged several rolling blockades of slow-moving traffic - one beginning over the Severn and making its way to Bristol, along the same route workers like Vicky would have taken.
Read more: Live: M5, M4 and M32 fuel price protesters block multiple routes
Vicky said the situation had taken an emotional toll on her and her family. Talking about the disruption that the protest will cause to drivers on the M4, she added: “We’re doing this for us and for them. If they want to have a moan, they should join us instead.”
Protesters left the M4 Magor service in South Wales and headed across the Prince of Wales bridge crossing the River Severn into England, this morning. A convoy of around 20 vehicles left the services and before departing they were told by police they could not stop and must drive no slower than 30mph.
The protests were expected to have a knock-on effect on major roads around Bristol as people aimed to avoid the motorways. More than 80,000 vehicles use the Severn Bridge - the M48 - to cross between Wales and England each day.
A further 65,000 or so vehicles use the Second Severn Crossing - officially called Prince of Wales Bridge. Asked what she would ask Boris Johnson to do, Vicky simply said: “Resign.”
Last week, the Prime Minister denied that his Government is being “complacent” about spiralling inflation and said the “cost of freedom” is “always worth paying” amid soaring costs exacerbated by the Ukraine war. Mr Johnson said: “Next month, we’ve got a tax cut worth £330 on average…for all payers of national insurance contributions coming in, a very substantial tax cut in addition to what we’ve done on fuel duty and on council tax.
“Of course, we always want to try to reduce burdens, but we have to do it in a sensible and a responsible way.” The protests, which started at around 7am, are understood to have been organised via social media under the banner Fuel Price Stand Against Tax.
Mobile welder Richard Dite, 44, from Maesteg, South Wales, said it is costing him hundreds of pounds in fuel to get to work every week due to price hikes. “It’s costing me £300 a week before I even get to work and earn anything,” he told PA before the M4 protest.
“My only option soon will be to put the welding gear in the shed and call it a day, maybe go on the dole. Face it, at this rate I’ll be on more that way.”
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