drivers' war
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ried that the attack will make things worse for British truck drivers who, so far, have escaped personal violence. "From now on it will just be a free for all," says partner Jeremy Francis, who runs nine trucks a week into France.
Francis is weary of the continuing aggravation in France. In recent weeks he has had a lorry hijacked and has rerouted several others to avoid blockades. "As long as they don't hurt anyone, the French police just let the farmers get on with it," he claims.
Francis accepts that ''there's no simple answer" — he says ''it must be sorted out by negotiation between the farmers union and the Government".
One of the worst incidents of the week happened at Bellac, near Poitiers, when 386 British lambs were slaughtered by French farmers.
Richard Plowman of Plowman Hauliers from Sutton-onForest was driving south along National 20 when he was ambushed on a stretch of road blocked by blazing tyres. He was forced to drive to Bellac where the sheep were slaughtered in the abattoir and burned in the town centre. "This is likely to force up our insurance premiums," says transport manager, Peter Howorth.
Howorth is also concerned at rising fuel costs, as drivers are forced to detour around the danger spots, MPs on both sides of the house have called for a tougher Government line to protect British truck drivers: 100 MPs tabled an all commons motion "utterly condemning" the French attacks on British trucks.
After the attack on the French driver, Dr David Clark, Shadow Minister of Agriculture, said: "I believe the French farmers are likely to take revenge and I fear that a British Ion-v driver in France may end up harmed or even killed."