THE man who organised yesterday's fuel protests on the Welsh side of the Severn Estuary has said he has mixed views on how the protest turned out.
Although he said he was disappointed by the number of drivers who part - of whom 12 were arrested for driving slower than 30mph, despite having been specifically instructed not to before the protest - Mr Fowler said he believes it had the desired effect of prompting conversation around the issue.
Mr Fowler - who was unable to attend the protest himself due to work commitments - said the event's Facebook page had 200 people saying they would take part, and 900 interested in getting involved.
"But only around 15 people turned up apparently," he said.
Ashley Fowler
"It wasn't the best, because obviously the protest was cut short, but technically we got what we wanted."
But he said the goal of drawing attention from the media was a success, with traffic on the bridge brought to a standstill for more than an hour, and multiple news organisations covering the protest.
Mr Fowler said: "The main goal was to hit the media, because if we'd done it and no media were involved, nobody would know about it.
"Nothing would happen, so the more media that hit, the better."
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Mr Fowler was also buoyed by reports he had heard that chancellor Rishi Sunak had taken notice of the protests - but promised more action if fuel prices remained high.
"Some people are planning the next one already," he said.
"If nothing happens in the next week, it's guaranteed that there will be another one.
"Learn from one protest and then improve the next."
Mr Fowler confirmed that he will be involved if there is another protest.
Mr Fowler thanked those who had supported the event, and said he hoped those who had opposed it "would forgive me" if it resulted in fuel prices coming down.
"If no one stands up to the government, Britain will fall to pieces and we will have nothing left," he said.
"You don't need an army to win a battle."
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