Dairy farmers in Galicia, demanding a decent market price for their milk, took to the streets in protest for the third day running today, blocking the ring road around Santiago de Compostela and bringing the centre of Lugo to a standstill with over 2000 tractors surrounding the city wall.

Their protest was aimed at the five main distribution centres in the Compostela area, but they ended up causing major tailbacks on all the surrounding roads and the traffic police had to intervene and set up diversions.

One protestor was injured after receiving a blow to the head from a police officer whilst emptying a 'Leche Río' milk lorry onto the road leading to the airport and was taken to hospital where his injuries were deemed to be 'mild', but union leaders have been highly critical of the heavy-handed police intervention in the protests.

Police sources maintain that the dairy farmers had no licence for their public protest today and were therefore in breach of the law, but Carme Leire of the Galician Workers' Union (SLG) told the press that this was not the case and that the police were just trying to mobilise public condemnation for the dairy farmers' actions.

Amongst the protestors was José Luis López Vázquez, president of the Galician Co-operative Association, who was hopeful of achieving a solution to the crisis in the dairy farming sector once the Minister of Agriculture meets with representatives of the various unions.

On behalf of his own and the other trade unions involved, López Vázquez apologised to the local people for the inconvenience caused, but stressed that their action was borne of 'desperation' for the current situation faced by Galician dairy farmers.