A PROTEST against the spiralling price of fuel will go ahead on Friday.

Protestors will meet at Chester services, at Junction 14 of the M56, at 7pm with the go-slow due to begin at 7.30pm.

The vehicles will travel along the A5117 and around the Stanlow refinery before getting out of their vehicles for a protest on foot, with no scheduled finish time.

More than 300 people have pledged attendance on the organisers’s page on social networking website Facebook. Debate has raged on the site as both supporters and objectors vent their conflicting views.

Full-time football referee Kevin Bowker, 40, spends £85 a week on petrol and helped organise the protest.

He said: “It’s definitely going to be peaceful. There’s people coming from Liverpool, Manchester and Wrexham.

“It might run into Saturday morning and it might run into Sunday.

“We’re trying to cause minimum disruption to the public. That’s the last thing we want. We just need to raise awareness of the cost of fuel.

“It’s affecting everybody – the price of food, the price of your daily paper. Lorries need fuel to transport them and the price of fuel will be passed on to the consumer.

“It’s supposed to be going up to £1.75-a-litre after summer which would be disastrous.”

Mr Bowker met the police chief inspector dealing with the protest, Damien Smethurst, on Wednesday to ensure the protest would pass without trouble.

Cheshire Constabulary spokeswoman Shelley Williams said: “The role of the constabulary during this protest is to impartially allow for peaceful protesting, while ensuring others can continue unhindered in their legitimate business activities, or commuting.

“Our presence is also to reassure the public – to help limit anxiety and impulse purchasing of fuel. We will do all we can to ensure the public are kept fully informed and advised of any impact the protest may have on the road networks and to manage any disruption as effectively as we can.”