Easter getaway ‘will be costliest ever for drivers’

EASTER will be “the costliest on record” for drivers hit by the rocketing expense of filling cars for family getaways, experts have warned.

Motorists were battered with the biggest monthly increase in fuel prices last month despite the Chancellor announcing a 5p duty cut, the RAC said.

Pump prices rose more in March than in any previous month since the RAC began monitoring in 2000.

Experts said the cost of filling a family petrol car is now a third higher than a year ago, while diesel costs 40 per cent more.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “This Easter – traditionally the biggest getaway time of the year on the roads – is shaping up to be the costliest on record for drivers and there’s very little they can do to escape the high cost of filling up.”

Mr Williams said March will “go down in history books” as one of the worst months for pump prices.

He said: “To describe the current situation facing drivers at the forecourt as

‘bleak’ is therefore something of an understatement.

“Without question, these figures show in the starkest possible terms just how much fuel prices are contributing to the cost-of-living crisis which will be affecting households up and down the country.”

The average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol went up by 11.62p to end the month at 163.28p per litre – the largest increase the RAC has recorded in a single month.

The average price of diesel rocketed by 22.06p a litre, peaking at 179.9p on March 23, ending the month at 177.29p. Just 3.7p has come off the price of petrol since the 5p fuel duty cut was announced by Rishi Sunak.

Mr Williams said: “Drivers might well be feeling aggrieved that the

Chancellor’s ‘historic’ fuel duty cut announced in the Spring Statement just two weeks ago has done nothing to protect them from price increases.

“A 5p cut in duty should, in theory, have led to a 6p cut in prices at the pumps as a result of the Government taking less VAT – but that is on the basis that wholesale prices stay still, which is hardly ever the case, and retailers passing on their reduced costs to drivers fairly.

“The fact pump prices have fallen so little reflects the fact that the cost to retailers of buying fuel had been going up ahead of the Spring Statement.

“Had the Chancellor temporarily cut VAT rather than fuel duty on fuel, as we asked him, the impact on pump prices would have been immediate with drivers benefitting straight away.

“Cutting VAT would also have gone some way towards shielding drivers from future increases – something a cut in duty just can’t do.”

The RAC suggested people seek out the cheapest petrol stations and drive efficiently to make every pound spent on fuel go as far as possible.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps admitted on Sunday that rising costs of living are “very substantial”.

He hinted more support to ease the burden of rising household bills could be on the way, adding that “given the Chancellor’s record, I’m sure he’ll always be looking what else he can do” to help.