Where are fuel protests near Bristol today? Which parts of M5 M32 A38 are affected - protestors cause delays

Fuel price protests are taking place throughout the United Kingdom as chaos is unleashed on major roads and motorways.

Avon and Somerset Police have warned that protestors have plans to initiate ‘slow moving roadblocks’ to cause disruption.

Protests have been planned in a number of the country’s biggest cities ahead of school children’s summer holidays.

Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, London and Bristol will see protests.

Here is everything you need to know about the fuel protests; such as who is  the group behind them, why they are protesting and the roads affected near Bristol.

Who is behind the protests and when are they happening?

The group behind the fuel protests are known as Fuel Stand Against Tax.

They are a Facebook group that consists of around 56,000 members who shared a post online to suggest that activists will assemble nationwide to make their message heard.

But when are they happening? Fuel protests are scheduled to take place throughout Friday, 22 July 2022 and potentially through the weekend.

Why are Fuel Stand Against Tax protesting?

These demonstrations are taking place due to the soaring prices of petrol and diesel that have hit the population hard.

Costs that are so high due to various factors such as the price of crude oil, which is a resource used in the make up of petrol and diesel.

The cost of crude oil during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic led to the demand collapsing and price reached an all time low.

Once everyday life opened back up afterwards, the demand returned but suppliers could no longer match it, leading to skyrocketing prices.

The aim of the Fuel Stand Against Tax protests taking place on Friday is to cut the price of fuel in the country, primarily through the reduction of tax.

In total, 17-percent of the price of one litre of fuel is made up from VAT and 29-percent is fuel duty.

Which roads are affected by the protests near Bristol?

A number of the UK’s biggest motorways and roads have been targeted by demonstrators throughout Friday.

Traffic disruption has been caused countrywide at the start of the summer holidays which sees an estimated 18.8 million leisure trips this weekend as schools in England and Wales close for the break.

The main access roads of the Bristol region are the M4, M5 and M32 motorways - all of which have been affected by fuel protests.

Avon and Somerset Police posted on social media the following statement: “A slow-moving protest convoy of about 10 vehicles has joined the M5 northbound at J24 Bridgwater”.

“Currently there are no delays on the motorways in our area due to protest activity but some motorists might experience longer journey times today.”

Traffic app Inrix confirmed on Friday morning that bad traffic conditions are expected near J24 A38 Taunton Road in Bridgwater South.

This is due to congestion between M5 southbound Almondsbury Interchange to Junction 23 for the A38 Bridgwater.

Police have also notified Bristolian motorists that a small number of vehicles have also set off to protest at the Shell petrol station forecourt near Bridgwater’s Express Park.

Whereas one of the M5 planned convoys are making their way towards J21 Weston-super-Mare.

Inrix have also reported further disruption on the M5 not too far from the Bristol region, with congestion and slow traffic at J22 near Burnham-on-sea.

BristolWorld has a live blog if you wish to keep updated with all the disruption caused by the fuel protests.

Police officials have advised motorists to plan their journeys ahead of time.

*This article will be updated as and when more information is available

What advice have Avon and Somerset Police given to Bristol motorists?

Avon and Somerset Police superintendent Tony Blatchford stated the following: “Our protest liaison team has been engaging with the organiser so we can inform the public of the likely disruption and help to minimise it. Nevertheless, drivers can expect journey times will likely be longer than normal, especially on motorways, which often tend to be at their busiest at this time of year.

“We advise motorists to consider any alternative travel plans available and ensure they are suitably prepared in case they are delayed.”