We have a running joke in our house that one carrier bag of shopping at Waitrose will cost us £50 while at Asda it would probably cost us half as much.

But the thing is we know exactly why and we do it with eyes wide open. It’s because with a hubbie who is a complete and utter foodie it’s almost impossible to resist the range of luxury goodies at Waitrose.

In essence they cost more, we know we are going to spend more and it is our own fault. I can’t grumble. I can’t do a Mrs Angry act and I have to accept that Waitrose is most definitely only worth a visit if I am feeling a little flush. It’s all part of our supermarket shopping habits

But the latest research from UBS has sparked my inner Mrs Angry – and I can tell you she’s not happy. The research suggests that our five main supermarkets (and Waitrose is not among them) have such a stranglehold on UK shoppers that, it is suggested, our prices are rising faster than anywhere else among the world’s seven leading economies.

The Germans, Americans and other nationalities within the Euro are not facing the same price hikes because there is more competition, keeping in check any supermarkets tempted to stick a few pence on items here and there. So all that bleating about outside forces forcing prices up is perhaps not as clear-cut as the bosses of Tesco and co would have us believe.

American supermarkets are surely facing the same obstacles, yet their prices are going up at a fraction of the rate ours are. Funnily enough though, while our top five supermarkets have a 85 per cent share of the market, America’s top five only controls 30 per cent. It certainly seems to be adding up to a situation where the British shopper is being taken for a mug.

As I said I don’t mind shelling out extra if it’s on a level playing field and I know why. But I’m not too happy about digging deeper at the moment if it’s because our supermarkets, with their bumper profits already in the bank, are simply getting greedy. And just because they can.

Everyone knows times are tough and, being completely honest here, if the supermarkets were struggling and jobs were at risk I wouldn’t mind stretching the purse strings but most reported their best Christmas trading figures yet. Now we know why – they are bleeding us dry for their own back pocket.

Every little helps they say. It might but not for the customer. I know how much it takes to feed a family – with two boys with seemingly endless appetites food is a constant drain on resources and because, as responsible parents who want to ensure they eat well, it costs a lot. I would say second to our mortgage food is our highest outgoing. I don’t mind because raising a family is about providing food and shelter but I want it at a fair price.

I can’t imagine how a mum of four who is really stretching every last penny for that weekly shop must be feeling today knowing that a few of those pennies are just to line the pocket of some distant fat cat already banking millions.

Maybe we will finally see that these supermarkets are not part of our community, they don’t care and surely should be shamed every bit as much as bankers because they have let down the people who put them where they are for some extra pound signs when they already had more than enough.

Economists say they could now face political pressure to do something about it and even possibly a competition probe. Let’s hope so, and if nothing is done and they are found to be inflating prices for their own margins than let’s hope they soon learn the meaning of “don’t bite the hand that feeds you”  – and to their cost.