A BUSINESSMAN says he would consider allowing staff from his Woodbury Salterton haulage firm to take part in a road blockade in protest to rising fuel prices.

Laurence Poole, director of Aardvark Excavations, at Greendale Business Park, said the rising cost of fuel was having a detrimental effect on the business.

Mr Poole, therefore, also strongly objects to the planned one penny rise in fuel duty set to come in this April.

Aardvark Excavations was one of the leading local firms involved in protests a number of years ago – road blockades that brought parts of the country to a standstill when petrol pumps ran dry.

“The rising cost of fuel is just another nail in the coffin for many businesses at the moment,” said Mr Poole.

“We were one of the leading firms heavily involved in the protests last time around and it is something we would consider doing again if somebody organised it.

“With the rising costs, it is like the noose is tightening all the time and we are getting squeezed from every direction.”

Mr Poole added: “It is a very difficult economic climate to be operating in.”

In nearby Honiton, one of its longest-established family businesses this started preparations to close, with the loss of 14 jobs – a casualty of rising fuel costs.