THE French are famous for it, but this month's huge fuel tax protest on this side of the Channel has shown that the most resolute of governments can be rocked by it.

Taking to the streets may be one step from law of the jungle, but it has been shown in the past few weeks to make people sit up and take notice.

Now the anger of Britain's pensioners is set to land Tony Blair's New Labour with an autumn of discontent like they have never seen before from the country's "old 'uns". Traditional civility, some militant pensioners are warning, is set to be replaced by civil unrest because many pensioners believe the time for tame protest is over.

Campaigns such as sending 75p coins or bags of peanuts to Downing Street in the backlash to last Spring's "paltry rise" of the same amount have not worked, say pensioners' leaders.

And on November 7, a mass protest is planned on the streets of the capital as a petition containing more than one million signatures is handed to the Queen. The government is expected to announce its annual uprating of pensions shortly afterwards.

Many more protests are planned for all over Britain and one of the first kicks off in Bury town centre tomorrow. Exactly what form the demonstration, organised by Bury Pensioners' Association, will take has not been revealed.

The National Pensioners' Convention is by-passing the Prime Minister this time and going straight to the Queen with its petition.

General secretary Jack Thain said: "We are very, very angry and we want the government to know we mean business."