Thousands of protesters plan to reduce the speed of a huge stretch of A1 tomorrow (June 17th) to campaign against rising fuel prices.
Two thousand drivers are expected to take part in a slow drive from Stanington, near Morpeth to Weatherby on the A1 on Friday afternoon.
The event is organized by the group of car enthusiasts Summer Madness and so far has received great support online.
Jay Garside, Newcastle’s event manager and member of the Mad Madness who organized the protest, told The Northern Echo that they were planning a “legal” and “peaceful” protest.
Jay, 45, said: “As a group full of car enthusiasts, we all spend a lot on our cars, and a lot of that is fuel. We said that when fuel prices reach £ 2 a liter, it makes sense to stand up and protest and do something about it.
“Six years ago we held a protest in the same format as tomorrow, and it worked.
Read more: Northeastern Tories and Labor MPs call for action on fuel prices
“The feedback I get from Facebook is that everyone wants to do something, but no one knows what to do.
“We know what to do, so we decided to set an example and show people how to make a legal, peaceful protest without blocking roads or petrol stations, but to slow down A1.
“We show people how to behave, what works and what gets the level of support we get.”
The protest convoy is due to leave Stanington’s services in Northumberland at 3.30pm on Friday afternoon and slowly descend to Weatherby’s services at around 8pm, traveling at 30 miles per hour.
The protesters will then turn and return to Kingston Park, near Newcastle.
Read more: Stanley Travel boss calls for tax changes with rising fuel prices
Mr Garside added: “We expect around 2,000 vehicles to come, but there could be up to 4,000 or 5,000.
“Trucks are coming, transport companies are coming, we are getting support we never expected.
“There are people who come from Hull just to drive with us and slow down A1. They travel up for three hours, only to go down again to participate. ”
Fuel prices have continued to rise over the past week, with the average price of unleaded reaching 187.01 pence per liter and 193.30 pence per liter for diesel on Thursday (June 15th).
Last week, BP at Washington Services on A1 (M), which the convoy will cross during its voyage, was spotted charging more than £ 2 per liter for refueling.
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