Carmarthen: Farmers disrupt A48 traffic with go-slow protest

The Welsh government insist its plans will address the climate crisis

More than 100 tractors and pickup trucks disrupted traffic with a go-slow protest on one of the main routes in west Wales.

The protest on the A48 near Carmarthen was over planned changes to farming subsidies by the Welsh government.

Police have advised motorists to avoid the road between Carmarthen and Pont Abraham for several hours.

The Welsh government insist its plans will keep farmers farming the land and address the climate crisis.

Farmers are protesting over planned changes to farming subsidies

Just before midday on Friday, a mixture of tractors and pickups made their way at a pace of about 4mph (7km/h) from Pensarn towards Cross Hands.

In the afternoon, the protest started to make its way to Pont Abraham.

The Welsh government is consulting on its post-Brexit plan for the farming industry, the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

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In order to gain access to the scheme, farmers will have to commit to planting 10% of their land with trees and earmark another 10% as wildlife habitat.

Farmers argue that this is not practical while keeping a farm business going, with many concerned that the other requirements of the scheme will overwhelm them with paperwork.

The Welsh government insists its plans will ensure safe food production systems, protect the environment and address the urgent call of the climate crisis and the nature crisis.