Seven hundred Welsh farmers, angry at the level of cheap beef imports coming into Britain, blockaded the port of Holyhead until early this morning, forcing up to six Irish truck drivers to abandon their journeys to British supermarkets.
The protest came as the leader of the Farmers' Union in Wales, Mr Bob Parry, was due to meet the Welsh Secretary, Mr Ron Davies, in London later today to discuss the demands of the Welsh farmers.
They are calling on the British government to release EU funds to the farming industry to cover the cost of the collapse of beef prices following the BSE crisis and the strength of sterling. What could easily have been a repeat of the scenes at Holyhead on Sunday night when Welsh farmers dumped a consignment of Irish beef-burgers into the sea, was avoided this morning, essentially because of smooth organisation on the part of the farmers' official representatives.
As farmers gathered at Holyhead to await the arrival of the 11.30 p.m. ferry from Ireland 15 representatives from across north Wales were elected to meet the trucks as they disembarked. The port authorities at Holyhead then agreed to allow the representatives to check the paperwork of refrigerated trucks, which had been directed to one side, to see if they were carrying beef or lamb products.
"We don't have anything against the Irish farmers," said Mr Vivian Thomas, a beef farmer from Holyhead. "It's just that they are coming through Wales and they are an obvious target for us."
Mr Huw Lloyd Jones, said he was "fed up" with subsidising Irish farmers through contributions to the EU.
"We are not on a level playing field and the British government is not listening to us so we have no choice but to do this. We will keep on doing this until the government listens."
The leader of the farmers in north Wales, Mr Peter Rogers, played a pivotal role in calming tensions among the farmers who said they were worried that some Irish trucks carrying beef might get through the blockade.
Standing in the port car park, Mr Rogers addressed the crowd, telling them that all the trucks carrying meat would be turned back and forced to return to Ireland.
He appealed to them not to let their feelings get out of control.
"No beef or lamb products will be coming through this port tonight. We've got our meeting with Ron Davies but the government ought to be coming here to speak to us. We'll check every single truck coming through, but we've got to do this whole thing on trust," he said.
As the trucks disembarked from the ferry it transpired that none of the Irish ones was carrying meat. Mr Rogers assured the farmers that the next two ferries due to arrive from Ireland at 1.30 a.m. and 3.30 a.m. today would be carrying Irish beef produce and would therefore be forced to turn back.
At least six Irish truck drivers were affected by the blockade and asked to return by the farmers' official representatives.