Petrol and diesel prices in Shropshire today varied by more than 13p a litre as supermarkets triggered a fresh price war in the cut-throat battle for trade.

The cheapest unleaded fuel in the county stood at less than £1.32, while some forecourts are charging nearly £1.46. There is a similar discrepancy in diesel prices, which vary from just below £1.37, to almost £1.50.

The news, which places fresh pressure on the dwindling number of rural filling stations across Shropshire, comes as money saving expert Martin Lewis offered tips on how drivers could save over £500 on their annual car fuel bills.

“For many Shropshire households, putting fuel in the tank has become one of their biggest bills, costing thousands of pounds a year – up there with mortgage or rent, and gas and electricity,” he said.

This morning, supermarkets including Asda in Shrewsbury were showing the lowest fuel prices, with a litre of unleaded at 132.7p, and diesel at 136.7p.

But the Shell station at the M54 Welcome Break service station near Shifnal was charging 145.9p for unleaded, and 149.9p for diesel.

Mr Lewis, who runs financial advice website money savingexpert.com said there were five key ways Shropshire drivers could cut bills on “must-do journeys”, in-cluding eliminating “agg-ressive stops and starts” at junctions, and shopping around for top fuel deals.

The larger than usual discrepancy in fuel prices across Shropshire is being driven by supermarkets.

The biggest price drops this week have come from Asda and Morrisons, which both reduced the price of unleaded by 2p a litre and diesel by a penny. Tesco cut 1p off a litre of unleaded, and is offering customers who sign up for its credit card before September £5 off their next fuel purchase, when spending at least £20.

Paul Watters, a spokesman for the AA, said: “The price of oil has dropped, but this has not properly filtered through the customer yet. The supermarkets will lead the pack with price cuts, and smaller petrol stations will have to follow suit.”

By Carl Jones