At a time when escalating fuel costs are having a serious impact on Lowestoft fishermen, it is a major concern that fishermen from Spain and France are receiving grant support from their governments, which the British government have refused to provide their British counterparts.

Peter Aldous, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Waveney, is promoting a petition, which will be presented to Parliament, calling for a level playing field for the UK fishing fleet in the light of the fuel aid that French and Spanish fishermen are receiving and which they are not.

He comments: "It is very wrong that British fishermen are penalised in this way. Lowestoft fishermen are operating with increasingly expensive quotas and now they have been dealt a further blow by having to compete with the subsidised fleets of other nations. It is time for the European Commission to provide a real level playing field by supporting fishermen from all member states with the same amount of aid."

Click here to download petition form.

Photo: Peter Aldous supporting Lowestoft fishermen.