Motorists have been warned petrol prices may soon reach their highest level ever.
After surging 5p a litre over a month, the price of petrol at the pumps has gone up a further 1p in the last five days, according to the AA.
The AA said the effect of the pound sliding against other big currencies and market speculation could push prices to record levels by Easter.
It revealed the average cost of petrol in the UK was now 138.32p per litre, with diesel having risen 4.78p from its mid-January price to stand at an average of 145.10p.
Latest figures show petrol has risen 6.24p since January, adding £3.12 to the cost of refilling a typical 50-litre tank.
According to the website www.petrolprices.com, the highest price of petrol available in Preston was 141.9p per litre and the lowest was 134.7p.
It said the highest price of diesel was 146.9p and the lowest was 141.7p.
Driving instructor Graham Wiles, of Graham’s School of Motoring in Preston, said the recent price rises were ‘crazy’.
He said: “It’s affecting my business in a big way.
“I run two cars, a manual and an automatic, and the cost has gone up astronomically from three years ago.
“The thing that annoys me is they keep saying the Government should put the costs of the tax down, but they are still getting all the revenue.
“If they took 10p off a litre that would really help us.”
Alan Potter, of Preston haulier firm T Parker Miller & Son, said rising fuel prices would affect the company’s profits.
He said: “You can pass some of these costs on to the customer, but they are under similar constraints.
“I think generally speaking there is an antipathy to rising prices now.
“People raise the issue, then it goes away and when it comes back, each time the prices come back higher.
“We’re getting towards £1.50 a litre. It will come.”
Mark Selley, from Preston Hackney Carriage Association, said taxi drivers could be tempted to work longer hours to claw back profits.
He said: “The difficulty with being a cab driver with rising costs, be it fuel or insurance, is you can’t necessarily pass it on to the customer. Tariffs set by the council are only reviewed once a year.
“We wouldn’t want to keep passing costs on to the public because they are faced with the same difficulties we are.”
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