Fuel price protests on motorways cause little disruption

FUEL price protests in the West went ahead yesterday morning without causing significant delays for motorists.

It had been feared that action on the M5, M4, M32 and A38 could spark hours of delays on a day that had been dubbed “frantic Friday”.

And although traffic was heavy on what was the first day of the school summer holidays for some, the protest itself had limited impact.

At around midday, Avon and Somerset Police said: “The protest convoy has exited the M5 southbound at J24 (Bridgwater). There is now no protest activity on motorways within Avon & Somerset.

“There are some small delays in both directions on the M5 due to volume of traffic. A protest at the Shell garage in Bridgwater continues.”

That protest also ended without causing significant disruption.

Leisure traffic volumes look set to peak today with 4.62 million separate road trips but Sunday won’t be far behind with 4.29 million trips expected to be made.

An estimated extra 5.61 million car journeys will take place between yesterday and the end of Sunday by drivers unsure as to which day they will get away.

Motoring organisations warned of bottlenecks on the A303 past Stonehenge

for drivers heading for Devon and Cornwall. The M5 south of Bristol is also a hotspot they warn, along with the M4 between Newport and Cardiff.

RAC research suggests the UK might be in line for its third big “staycation summer” in a row following those caused by the pandemic, although the extremely high fuel prices might mean fewer people make long-distance trips.

Paul Gillis/Reach Heavy traffic on the M5 yesterday but fuel price protests did not cause the disruption that had been feared