Tankers start to leave refinery

Five tankers left a refinery in Essex tonight just hours after Prime Minister Tony Blair promised the fuel situation would start to get back to normal.

Five tankers left a refinery in Essex tonight just hours after Prime Minister Tony Blair promised the fuel situation would start to get back to normal.

An Essex Police spokesman said the tankers left the refinery at Purfleet shortly after 7.30pm.

A police officer sat alongside the driver of each tanker and police cars also drove alongside as an escort.

"We explained to the pickets what we intended to do and they raised no objections," said the spokesman.

"There are four refineries in total on the site and there were a small number of lorries outside each.

"They moved aside to allow the tankers through and there were no problems.

"Hopefully this will be the start of a return to normality."

Farmers who have been demonstrating at a refinery Stanlow, Cheshire, where the protests began, were tonight meeting Shell managers to discuss the situation.

At 7.30pm 100 taxi drivers from Wellington, Widnes and Chester arrived at the depot to show their support for the protest.

They arrived by foot after their vehicles were stopped by a police cordon a mile and a half away from the protest line.

Spokesman Clive Swann told them: "As long as we are peaceful we cannot be moved."

A line of 20 policemen formed at the gate to the depot as the number of protesters rose.

Taxi driver Steve Harper, from Warrington, said: "Tony Blair thinks he can get rid of us but his speech this afternoon has only caused more of us to come out in peaceful protest."

Night shift drivers at the Manchester Fuels Terminal were also meeting management to decide whether to take loads out of the depot.

The terminal remained at a standstill for the third day with only supplies for emergencies services leaving.

But police outside the depot said senior officers had spoken to managers about the suitability of sending out vehicles.

Inspector David England, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "The police are here to ensure the safety of the drivers and that there is no obstruction of the highway but the decision as to whether the vehicles leave will be made by the centre manager and the drivers.

"We would say it is considered safe for the drivers to go out."

Meanwhile, Cheshire Police cordoned off both ends of the private road leading to the Stanlow refinery "as a precaution".