NI fuel protesters 'stand in solidarity' with Irish counterparts

NI fuel protesters 'stand in solidarity' with Irish counterpartsJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleDarran MarshallBBC News NIBBCThe convoy left an industrial estate just outside the town at 15:30 BST on Saturday and headed towards the townDozens of vehicles have taken part in a fuel protest at a border crossing between counties Donegal and Tyrone.Organisers say they are standing in solidarity with those who are protesting in the Republic of Ireland where hundreds of petrol stations are without fuel due to five days of protests.A convoy of vans, lorries, tractors, and even a limousine, are taking part in a 'go-slow' around the town centre before crossing the border into Lifford, County Donegal.One vehicle recovery owner told BBC News NI that his fuel bill increased by more than £5,000 in the past month and he would be taking his lorries off the road from today.Michael McLaughlin says ordinary people are "getting hammered, left, right and centre" over rising fuel bills and the cost of living"There's real anger across the whole island of Ireland about rising prices, not only with fuel but the cost of living and the cost of a bag of messages out of the supermarkets," said Michael McLaughlin, one of the protest organisers. "All other sectors of the economy - manufacturing, construction, hospitality, healthcare, distribution, you name it, all the workers throughout the pandemic kept the lights on."All the people who went out, day after day, working to keep the country going - they're the workers who are getting hammered left right and centre every time they go out the front door, go to a fuel pump, go down to the supermarket for a bag of groceries and messages - something has to give."He said those who had gathered in Strabane had done so to "articulate that anger in the best way we can" and to send a clear message to the "political class that enough is enough"."We can't...