Rising petrol prices bring dramatic fall in level of sales at pumps

Sales have steadily declined during the recession and totalled 13.9bn litres in the first nine months of last year, a fall of a billion litres on the same period in 2010, a figure which provoked concern in North Yorkshire where rural communities are badly affected by high fuel prices.

MPs in the county want the Government to reduce fuel duty for motorists in remote areas.

Julian Smith, Tory MP for Skipton and Ripon, said: “Every family is affected by the high cost of fuel as our area is so reliant on cars, and these costs are having a major impact on people’s finances.

“We need to continue to make the case for rural areas and build upon the action taken by George Osborne in the Autumn Statement.

“A fuel rebate for North Yorkshire, along the lines of that planned for parts of Scotland, is not a done deal but would be welcomed by many businesses in our area whose fuel bills are higher than the drivers’ wages.”

Robert Goodwill, Tory MP for Scarborough and Whitby, added: “Farmers have been hit very hard by fuel rises and this is something the Government recognises. Fuel prices are currently 10p lower than they would have been under Labour’s plans for staged increases.”

The petrol sales figure for the first nine months of 2008, before the recession started to bite, was 16.3bn litres.

An AA spokesman said: “While many people in Yorkshire said fuel bills were too high, it is worth remembering that prices there are 2p lower on average than in the South. But people in rural areas have longer distances to travel, so this difference is cancelled out. Little wonder two-fifths in our survey said they would be cutting back.”

In a separate AA/Populus survey, two-fifths of motorists said they would either drive more economically or less often to save money in 2012.