Fury over price hikes erupts as tractors spark chaos on roads

A slow-moving convoy of tractors has sparked huge traffic disruption in Northern Ireland, as several fuel protests are expected to be held in the region today. The local health minister Mike Nesbitt has asked protesters not to block roads, warning that the lives of those seeking medical treatment could be put at risk.

Traffic clogged up on the Sydenham bypass near Belfast City Airport around noon, and tractors travelled down the bypass in the direction of Bangor towards City Airport, with some cars undercutting them on the cycle route to get past on the inside. The Belfast disruption comes after similar demonstrations south of the border disrupted fuel supplies, port operations and traffic in city centres and on motorways for a week. The war in Iran has seen the cost of oil skyrocketing, particularly after Iran started blocking the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of oil supplies transit.