London truckers protest fuel costs

Hundreds of lorry drivers have set off towards Britain's parliament to protest the rising cost of fuel.

The drivers, who work for freight companies, say their jobs are in danger from fuel prices that have reached almost $10 per gallon (1.30 pounds sterling a litre) for diesel.

Most of the price is made up of taxes, and demands are growing on Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government to lower them.

"We pay the highest fuel tax of any member state in the EU," Peter Carroll, a protest organiser said.

"We're having to compete with hauliers from those other EU countries who are coming into the UK with enough fuel to last all week - they're undercutting our rates, taking our work and destroying British companies."

Escorted by police, the protestors on Wednesday set off from a service station in Kent and will drive in convoys from a highway west of the city, into the centre of London.

In May, several hundred truckers jammed a major route into London in a similar protest.

In addition to the mobile protest, a delegation of hauliers will lobby Parliament on foot in protest at record-high fuel prices.

High fuel prices have sparked several protests across Europe in the last few months. Source: Agencies > >