With truck horns blaring and banners waving, hundreds of lorry drivers have set off for London to protest at soaring fuel prices.

Motorists applauded as a convoy of around 90 hauliers pulled away from the Medway services on the A2 in Kent on a three-hour journey into the capital.

Around 150 lorries left Essex for London and about 100 were travelling in from Bedfordshire as well as many other hauliers from all around the UK.

"We're expecting around 600 to 1,000 lorries to make it to London," said Peter Carroll, one of the protest organisers.

The owner of Seymour Transport, which has three bases including one in Maidstone, Kent, Mr Carroll went on: "We have received tremendous support for our protest."

A section of the A40 was closed to allow the lorries to park.

The truckers will stage a rally at Marble Arch and then a delegation will hand in a letter at 10 Downing Street.

The hauliers, and other road users, are now enduring record high petrol and diesel prices, with diesel well past the 120p-a-litre mark.

The protest comes as the Government faces another potentially damaging rebellion over tax after backbenchers urged Chancellor Alistair Darling to rethink plans announced in the Budget for big increases in vehicle excise duty on "gas guzzling" cars.

Although vehicles bought before 2001 are exempt, MPs are concerned that the some owners who bought bigger cars in the past not realising the changes were on the way, could be faced with increases of up to £200.