Petrol is most affordable for East Ren folk

As the cost of living crisis continues to bite, pushing household budgets to the brink, the price of fuel at the pumps is helping pile on the misery.

But the results of new research reveals that motorists in East Renfrewshire are having it easier than most, with data showing the area is the cheapest for a forecourt fill-up, relative to salary.

A study by Admiral car insurance has revealed that drivers have it easier in the authority.

Data analysed by the insurer examined the percentage of annual salaries likely to go on petrol over the next 12 months.

East Renfrewshire was revealed as the cheapest county to fill up the tank, while Dumfries and Galloway proved to be the most expensive.

Meanwhile, Scots were hit with the largest monthly spike in pump prices on record in March, despite a cut in fuel duty.

The RAC says the average cost of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts rose by 11.6p to end the month at 163.3p.

The previous biggest monthly increases in average fuel prices, revealed in records dating back to 2000, were October last year for petrol (7.4p per litre) and May 2008 for diesel (8.4p per litre).

Last month’s increases came despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak implementing a 5p per litre cut in fuel duty on March 23.

The study by Admiral shows that refuelling the average driver in Dumfries and Galloway costs them 11.8 per cent of their average hourly salary, the highest of any county in Scotland.

To refuel a car in Dumfries and Galloway that drives the annual mileage – 7,490 miles – is £1,108.

The second most expensive place to refuel is Argyll and Bute in Scotland, with petrol costing 11.8 per cent of an average hourly salary in that council.

Coming in third is Falkirk, with petrol at a cost of 10.9 per cent of an average annual salary.

The least expensive county to refuel though, is East Renfrewshire - which ranks as the cheapest place for households to buy fuel, as it costs roughly 7.3 per of the average hourly wage.

East Dunbartonshire came in second as the cheapest to refuel at a cost of around 8.2 per cent of an average hourly salary, closely followed by the West Lothian region sitting at 8.6 per cent.

Edinburgh and Glasgow ranked as the fourth cheapest places in Scotland to refuel with both costing 9.4 per cent of an hourly average salary of those areas.

The UK Government takes almost 53p in duty from the cost of every litre of petrol and diesel.