French blockade sees Irish trucks stranded

UP TO 20 Irish truck drivers were yesterday stranded in Cherbourg for the fourth day after French fishermen, angry at high fuel costs, blockaded the port.

The port is one of a number hit by the nationwide protest which has seen the trucks, loaded with meat, vegetables and other produce, unable to leave.

The Irish Road Haulage Association is urging the Department of Transport to pressure the French government into resolving the row. Freight operator Derek Lenehan, who has a lorry with €40,000 worth of potatoes bound for Dublin stuck at the port, said yesterday he was concerned they will perish if left any longer.