Britons attacked and lorries set alight in violent protests

Violence has flared across Europe as hauliers, fishermen and taxi drivers protest against rising fuel prices they say are crippling their industries.

Some of the worst outbreaks were seen in Spain where prime minister José Luis Rodriguez pledged "zero tolerance" of any disruption by 90,000 striking lorry drivers.

His warning came after a driver breaking the strike was burned when his lorry was set on fire. A British father and his son feared for their lives when a mob of Spanish truckers hurled rocks at their van.

David Copestake, 40, and son Dylan, 12, were pelted as they drove on a dual carriageway. Mr Copestake, who has a chain of estate agencies in London, said: "It was terrifying. One rock smashed into the windscreen heading straight for my head." Spain's road system was returning to normal after the interior ministry ordered police to get tough.

The government has reached a deal with most of Spain's hauliers on relief from rising costs. In Portugal, lorry drivers agreed to lift road blocks after their union accepted a deal with their government. But it followed the death of a man near Lisbon on a picket line. In France, hauliers mounted protest drives on motorways.