A GWENT farmer was today leading an oil refinery protest in a bid to get politicians to deal with escalating fuel prices.

Monmouthshire farmer David Handley is a member of the pressure group Farmers For Action and was instrumental in the fuel revolts five years ago.

Now the dairy farmer from Raglan is one of 30 farmers who gathered at Shell's Stanlow Oil Refinery in Ellesmere Port, South Wirral.

Mr Handley emerged from a meeting with Shell management shortly before 9am and said he was now looking to the tanker drivers' union to join the protest.

He said: "We have just come from meeting Shell management and at first they were quite hostile and we threatened to walk out if that was their attitude.

"After that, they mellowed a bit and we had quite a good meeting."

Mr Handley said there had been 30 vehicles at the height of the protest.

Cheshire police said 14 vehicles had originally arrived at 5am.

The vehicles circled a roundabout for three hours before the drivers agreed to park them.

The police spokeswoman said the protest was not the same as that in 2000, which saw fuel supplies around the country run dry.

She said: "The road is not blocked and there is no threat to any petrol supplies."

Cheshire Constabulary's Area Support Group, a new unit of public order trained officers, was at the site when the demonstrators arrived. They were told they had to keep their vehicles moving due to oil refinery safety regulations.

They then agreed with police to send in a small party to negotiate with Shell management.

Mr Handley said: "In 2000 we were told by politicians that they were going to look at fuel prices. We haven't seen anything done.

"Now fuel is up to 93 pence a litre for diesel, and this is having a devastating effect on the agriculture and haulage industries.

"The hauliers also face tough competition from European firms who pay much less for their fuel."