Hundreds of lorry drivers converged on London yesterday to protest at rising fuel costs. Police closed a section of the A40 — one of the capital’s main arteries — so that it could be used as a massive lorry park.

From there the drivers made their way to a rally at Marble Arch, where they told of jobs under threat, severe belt-tightening and family companies facing closure.

Early yesterday morning, as the convoys set off from Kent, Essex and all points north and west, they were greeted with spontaneous applause from motorists, who are also feeling the pinch with petrol prices rising to an average of about 114p a litre and diesel to 126p.

The hauliers were in good spirits, with horns blaring and banners waving, but by the time they reached Marble Arch — where a sign lamented “Dying for a rebate” — the mood was more sombre.

The rally organisers, TransAction 2007, had hoped for 1,000 lorries but seemed satisfied with the 200-300 parked in rows on the A40, and another 100 that joined a protest in Wales.

Peter Knight, from Kent, said that the industry was in “complete meltdown” and that he felt like painting “HM Charity” on the side of his 23 lorries. His daughter, Sharon Knight, who helps to run the family company, claimed that the size of the protest proved there was “a groundswell” of support for the hauliers’ demands.

At lunchtime a delegation from TransAction 2007 headed for Downing Street to deliver a letter asking Gordon Brown for an urgent meeting and warning him that “this situation is a crisis”.

The letter said: “We are not faceless multinational companies — we are small and medium family companies built up over generations with hard work and determination. Our colleagues are being driven to despair and bankruptcy on a daily basis.”

The lobby group wants an “essential user rebate” on fuel duty to allow the British haulage industry to compete with companies in European countries where fuel is considerably cheaper. The group also cited the rebates given to bus companies in Britain.

Chris Lewis, 62, an independent haulier from Oswestry, Shropshire, said that he wanted “a simple thing — just give us a rebate and bring us on a level playing field with Europe”. He added: “All my earnings are going on fuel.”

Mr Lewis even wondered whether he would be able to afford a forthcoming holiday that he booked last year.He said: “I’m reaching the point where I feel like parking the truck up.”

That, he added, may be the only way of getting the Government’s attention, because of the knock-on effects for deliveries of food, clothing and other goods. “If we parked all the trucks up it would stop everything,” he said.

He was not the only one to think that more direct action may soon be needed. Jose Girvan, 36, a driver from Ruislip, West London, said that he was struggling with rising mortgage costs and other bills and feared that his job might be on the line: “I’m just waiting for my governor to say that he’s packing it in.”

Expressing his disappointment at the scale of yesterday’s protest, he said: “I would like to have caused a bit more of a disruption. We were talking earlier about blocking off all the bridges \ and that’s what needs to happen. It needs to happen regularly. I’d give up a day a week to do that.”

Jim Jordan, 64, who operates four lorries from his base in Shrewsbury, has calculated that it costs him about £33.48 an hour to run a typical heavy goods vehicle, of which £15.85 goes to the Treasury. “It’s a horrific amount of money,” he said. He had little hope of bluer skies to come, saying: “I think it’s going to be rough going.”

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