A CONVOY of hard-line fuel protestors will this morning leave for London - despite police warnings that they face arrest and signs of waning support.

Police will adopt a tough stance with the protestors who have vowed to go ahead with the convoy, dubbed the Jarrow Crusade 2000.

Chancellor Gordon Brown announced concessions to the fuel campaigners in Wednesday's mini-budget, the equivalent of 8p off a litre for truckers.

But the hauliers and farmers making up the People's Fuel Lobby have remained unmoved.

About 100 trucks, coaches, taxis and tractors are expected to leave the Birtley truck stop, near Gateshead off the A1, at about 9am and drive around the outskirts of Newcastle.

The convoy will then head south along the A1 in the first stage of its four-day trek.

But Northumbria Police are warning they will take action against drivers who break the law. In a letter being handed out to drivers taking part in the protest, Assistant Chief Constable John Scott sets out a series of conditions for the convoy, including travelling at the speed of normal traffic.

Mr Scott said: "Where slow moving or excessively large convoys cause major disruption to the free movement of vehicles, there is a serious risk of harm to the public.

"Failure to comply with the conditions or the commission of any offence will make drivers liable to prosecution."

The warning came after North Yorkshire Police used powers under the Public Order Act to ensure the convoy did not go near flood-hit York.

Deputy Chief Constable Peter Walker said the county's force was extremely stretched.

Amid evidence of waning public support for direct action, the Chancellor also appealed for an 11th hour change of heart. He said: "This is not a time to bring Britain to a halt by protest. I think the whole of business and most of Britain wants to keep Britain moving.

"I hope the protestors will look at the detail of my proposal, because there is a totally new licensing system for lorries which will get us down to about the lowest in Europe."

Campaigners also face a split in their ranks, with the Hauliers and Farmers Alliance not supporting the convoy.

HFA North-East leader Lennie Johnson said the protestors should have waited to see the effect of the Chancellor's concessions.

But County Durham farmer John Coxon, one of the protest organisers, said the convoy would be going ahead despite the police pressure. He said: "We have tried to co-operate with police but there has been an awful lot of obstruction.

"We want to go about this protest in a peaceful way, and as British citizens we have the right to demonstrate, but we believe the police are being very heavy handed."

The convoy got off to an unofficial start yesterday when six vehicles left Berwick for Newcastle but the time the protestors reached Alnwick, only a cement lorry and a four-wheel drive vehicle were left.

The convoy is due to arrive in time for a rally in Hyde Park, the day after the 60-day deadline set by protestors.

Comment - Page 14

Take part in our online poll at www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk