Motorists face paying through the nose for petrol and diesel this Easter getaway as pump prices soar.
Average prices are at the pumps stand at a five-year high for Easter according to the AA, with petrol at 125.41p a litre and diesel at 131.97p a litre.
But motorway petrol cost as much as 145.9p a litre yesterday, more than 20p a litre or £10 a tank more expensive than the UK average.
Prices have shot up in just a month on the rising cost of crude oil.
Oil company sites have rushed to pass on wholesale cost increases while price-conscious supermarkets in many towns stand out as the go-to places for cheaper fuel.
This has opened up a huge 6.4p-a-litre gap on average between the two retailer types.
“A $10 jump in the price of oil since February and sudden drawdown of petrol stocks in the US, leading to a surge in the commodity price, has sent the Easter cost of petrol at UK pumps to its highest since 2014,” says AA fuel price spokesman Luke Bosdet.
“This has been a shock to UK drivers which has almost wiped out the benefit of fuel efficiency savings from summer versus winter motoring,” he said.
Bosdet believes motorway prices are “out of control” and a distressed purchase.
He added: “Easter is going to be particularly expensive for many travellers forced on to the road by railway closures or Saturday’s football matches, which see Southampton fans going to Newcastle, Tottenham fans to Manchester, Watford to Huddersfield and Brighton to Wolverhampton.”
However, the AA says there are hidden ‘cases’ of considerably cheaper fuel on or just off the highway.
Three favourites for holidaymakers heading to the West Country on the M5 – 127.9p, Wales on the M4 – 127.9p, and the Lake District on the M6, third of a mile from junction 44 – 119.7p.
