Fuel costs driving firms to brink of disaster: Find the cheapest near you

A perfect storm of increased costs means motorists in Yorkshire today are paying 20 per cent more to fill up their tanks than a year ago, forcing haulage firms and independent fuel retailers close to the brink.

With the price of oil rocketing, a rise in VAT and repeated increases to fuel duty, the average price for a litre of unleaded in the region has reached a record 127.3p, with diesel costing 131.8p, a Yorkshire Post survey has found.

In December 2009 a litre of unleaded cost motorists in Yorkshire 107.5p, while diesel was 109p.

The surge in price equates to an extra 9.88 every time drivers fill up a 50-litre tank with petrol and 11.41 with diesel.

Drivers in North Yorkshire have been particularly hard hit. On average they are being made to fork out nearly 2p more per litre of fuel than anywhere else in the region.

At petrol stations in North Yorkshire unleaded costs an average of 128.3p per litre, while it is priced at an average of 126.6p on forecourts in South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire and 126.3p in Humberside.

This means that over the course of a year, drivers using their vehicles for 30 miles each day can expect to pay around 30 more if they buy it in North Yorkshire than in other parts of the region.

The figures are revealed in the wake of a report yesterday which suggested a planned rural fuel discount to help remote communities, such as those found in North Yorkshire, would not be in the Budget in March.

The Yorkshire Post found that the price of fuel varies widely, with a difference of 15p per litre between the cheapest and most expensive petrol prices in the region.

It costs an average of 4p per litre more to fill up with unleaded petrol in Malton (129.4p) than in Grimsby (125.4p) and there is nearly 5p difference in the average cost of a litre of diesel at garages in Northallerton (135.1p) compared with those in Keighley (130.2p).

The cheapest petrol anywhere in the region is 123.9p and can be found on forecourts in Leeds, Grimsby, Hull and Keighley, data from comparison website petrol prices.com showed.

The most expensive unleaded is found at an independent garage in Harrogate, where it costs drivers 138.9p for every litre of petrol. Service here is assisted, though.

Diesel is cheapest at stations in Leeds, Wakefield, Keighley and Hull, where it costs 127.9p per litre. A garage in Grimsby is home to the most expensive diesel in the region at 139.9p per litre.

The findings come on the back of the revelation that inflation is rising much more quickly than expected, leading to fears that average fuel prices could soon pass the 130p per litre mark.

The Office for National Statistics announced yesterday that the Consumer Prices Index increased to 3.7 per cent in December – up from 3.3 per cent the previous month – far more than the Government's two per cent target.

Industry associations have called on the Government to scrap its 1p fuel tax increase planned for April to help independent operators from being driven out of business and to help hard-pressed consumers.

Huddersfield-based petrol retailer Shaws Petroleum, which operates five sites including in West Yorkshire, has reported "terrible" sales figures as motorists turn to cheaper supermarket fuel or opt for public transport.

Paul Sykes, the firm's managing director, predicted a "huge number" of the 9,000 forecourts in the country would be forced to close this year.

He said: "The best thing the Government can do is cancel the next duty rise in April.

"It's above inflation – so petrol will be nearly 5p a litre more when the increase is introduced."

Mr Sykes said that retailers made only 3p for every litre sold irrespective of the price to customers.

Meanwhile, the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association have joined forces to lend their support to FairFuelUK, a campaign for cheaper fuel, which currently has more than 5,000 motorists signed up.