'Go slow' fuel price protest held on A12 in Essex
Drivers deliberately went slowly on the major route this morning - as they called on the government to do more about fuel prices
A 'go slow' protest has been held on the A12 in Essex by drivers angry about the rising cost of petrol and diesel.
Fuel protests have been taking place across the UK as drivers call for a cut in fuel duty, gridlocking motorways and major A-routes with a series of rolling go-slow roadblocks.
The latest figures from Experian show the average price of petrol reached a new high of 191.5p per litre on Sunday, while the average price of diesel was 199.0p per litre.
Essex Police has yet to confirm whether there were any arrests along the A12 earlier. In a statement on social media, a spokeperson for the force said:
"We had an appropriate policing plan in place to deal with any potential for disruption to Essex motorists this morning."
"Our priority throughout the morning was the safety of all drivers and to ensure our roads were kept moving.
"We continued to monitor the situation throughout the morning and that will continue throughout the day.
Those who took part in a roadblock across the Prince of Wales Bridge, between South Wales and Somerset, on Monday morning were stopped and told they were being detained for driving below the agreed 30mph speed for a prolonged period of time.
Gwent Police chief superintendent Tom Harding said the protesters had breached the legal notice put in place to ensure public safety.
"Over the last two weeks, we have been working jointly with a number of partners to ensure that emergency and critical services could continue and to prevent serious disruption to both road users and local communities," Chief Supt Harding said.
"The right to protest under UK law must be balanced with the rights of the wider community who may be affected.
"Along with partners, we identified that failing to comply with the legal notice requirements would lead to emergency and critical services being restricted therefore posing a risk to local communities, action was taken when I deemed these risks existed.
The protests, which started at around 7am, are understood to have been organised via social media under the banner Fuel Price Stand Against Tax, although police said their discussions were held with the organiser of the M4 'stand up to fuel prices' protest.
Rolling protests started simultaneously on the M4 from Magor services in South Wales and the junction 20 Almondsbury interchange near Bristol, with police telling demonstrators they could not stop and must drive no slower than 30mph.
Police escorted the two blockades as they crossed the River Severn but prevented them from completing the return journey by halting the convoys and arresting the drivers.
The Prince of Wales Bridge was closed for over an hour in both directions.
Mobile welder Richard Dite, 44, from Maesteg, South Wales, was arrested during the demonstation.
He said before the protest that it was costing him hundreds of pounds in fuel to get to work every week due to price hikes.
"It's costing me ÂŁ300 a week before I even get to work and earn anything," he said.
"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."
There were also protests on the A38 in Devon and at a Tesco petrol station in Shepton Mallet.
Further afield, there were demonstrations on the M54 in Shropshire, near the Ferrybridge services in West Yorkshire, on the A64 in the York area and on the M180 near Scunthorpe.