More misery at the pumps

Diesel is expected to top the £6-a-gallon mark in Oldham over the next few days as misery at the pumps hits an all-time high.

The news comes after prices averaged 132.03p a litre at many filling stations across Britain yesterday.

Motoring organisations warned that many drivers couldn’t afford it.

In Oldham today, the price of diesel was hovering slightly below the £6 a gallon mark — but only just.

Highest prices are generally recorded at smaller garages which cannot achieve the same savings in bulk buying as larger companies. At Scouthead Service Station, on Huddersfield Road, diesel was still selling at 129p a litre and petrol at 119p.

Chadderton Motor Company, on Middleton Road, was charging 118p a litre for unleaded.

Sales of diesel, however, were suspended at the garage because of the high cost of supplies after tanks ran dry following the last delivery.

With tax on diesel proportionately far higher than it is on champagne, there will be fresh pressure on Chancellor Alistair Darling to scrap plans for a 2p hike in duty this autumn.

The cost of a litre of diesel has risen by 35p in a year and the AA said it now costs £30 a month more to fill a car.

As prices continued to rise, AA president Edmund King said: “The £6 gallon would have been an unrealistic nightmare only one year ago, yet today it is a reality.

“Car-dependent people such as the disabled, shift workers and rural dwellers have to cut back on household expenditure as driving is a necessity.”

Surveys have shown that that the UK has the dearest diesel with our drivers paying up to 38p a litre more than EU counterparts.