Angry lorry drivers whose slow moving convoy caused jams over two miles long on sections of the A12, M25, M11 and A120 in Essex on Easter Saturday are promising more 30mph protests over road tax and diesel duty.

Essex Police Assistant Chief Constable Geoff Markham, who oversaw the police operation which included monitoring by the Air Support Unit's helicopter, said protesting lorry drivers had been well behaved.

He had promised police action if there were problems.

Police kept traffic lights on green at an intersection of the A12 and M25 to allow the 28 strong convoy through together.

The truckers took part in a 160 mile protest for about seven hours, starting from Harwich.

The action was led by John Tye, an owner driver from Little Oakley, near Colchester.

More demonstrations, the first on Monday (April 12) are threatened unless road tax and diesel duty is cut.

But the protest action is felt in some quarters to be too premature.

Bob Steward, who runs 50 lorries from his Essex firm RT Steward, said he thought there was much more negotiating to do before protests.

Mr Steward, who has been in the business 30 years suggested that at "the end of the day" if the government did not back down there ought to be an all out strike.

Mr Steward, a member of the Road Haulage Association, has been talking to MP's throughout Essex to support the truckers' cause.

The protest convoy trundles along the A12 at Ingatestone.

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