Exhibit 23(a)




               Consent of Independent Certified Public Accountants

     We have issued our reports  dated  September  24,  1996,  accompanying  the
consolidated  financial  statements  and schedule  incorporated  by reference or
included in the Annual Report of Valley Resources, Inc. and subsidiaries on Form
10-K for the year ended August 31, 1996. We hereby  consent to the inclusion and
incorporation  by reference of said reports in the Prospectus  and  Registration
Statement of Valley Resources, Inc. and subsidiaries filed on Form S-2.



                                                           S/Grant Thornton LLP
                                                             GRANT THORNTON LLP


Boston, Massachusetts
June 26, 1997