VILLAGERS are taking it upon themselves to fight rising oil prices by forming a syndicate. Residents of Great Bardfield met at the village pub, The Bell, on Wednesday night (June 11) to discuss how exactly to bring the bill down. Mary Glover, who lives at

VILLAGERS are taking it upon themselves to fight rising oil prices by forming a syndicate.

Residents of Great Bardfield met at the village pub, The Bell, on Wednesday night (June 11) to discuss how exactly to bring the bill down.

Mary Glover, who lives at White Hart House, attended the meeting and described it as "power to the people". She said: "We are trying to find a way to bring oil into the village for heating but in one go so we can get it much cheaper."

The idea is that if the entire village clubs together to organise one or two fuel deliveries per month for the entire village they will save cash on delivery costs and bring down the price for everybody.

Phil Clarke, of Bendlowes Road, is leading the charge for cheaper oil and arranged for the first tanker to arrive on Monday morning.

He said: "Although the tanker wasn't completely full we have saved around 4.1p a litre by ordering 14,000 litres for villagers. If we have a full tanker next time the saving could be as much as 6p per litre. Effectively the more people that join up, the cheaper it gets."

This delivery saved villagers around £574 but a full lorry could see savings of around £1200 and Mr Clarke is asking everybody to join in and make it happen.

"After our original meeting at The Bell, more people have been getting in touch with the group, which is really encouraging. We are hoping to fix regular dates for deliveries so that people can contact me five days in advance and place orders.

"We are all sick of being squeezed every day by rising oil prices. It's great Great Bardfield has decided not to stand for it," said Mr Clarke.

The project also now has the backing of the village's parish council, parish clerk Kate Fox.

She said: "We think it is an extremely good idea and Mr Clarke has our full support, in this day and age it's important to stay away from scams, but we all know him and know this is not one."

If you are a Great Bardfield resident looking to save on fuel costs then get in touch with Mr Clarke on 01371 810397.

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