Filling up the motor costs an extra £3 in Shropshire

The price of a litre of petrol across the West Midlands shot up by more than 5p to £1.28, according to RAC research.

This made filling up a typical 55-litre family car in our region around £3 more expensive.

The data suggests retailers have passed on wholesale price increases driven by a five per cent jump in the cost of a barrel of oil. Diesel prices also rose in April, up 3p a litre to £1.34. RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “Despite the good weather, April turned out to be one of the bleakest months ever for drivers with the second biggest monthly rise in the price of petrol for nearly 20 years.

“RAC Fuel Watch data shows the price of unleaded rose every single day from the end of March for three-and-a-half weeks. The bad news for drivers is a tank of petrol now costs £3 more than it did at the start of April. This will have a damaging effect on household budgets across the country and will inevitably mean there will be less money available for non-essential spending. But diesel drivers have much to be aggrieved about as the fuel not only suffered a 3p a litre hike in price, its pump price was 6p higher than petrol on average in April.”

There was some hope for motorists looking for a way to full up their car without breaking the bank.

Sainsbury’s and Morrisons both released new offers as part of a drive to bring more people to their stores in the region. Morrisons has said it will knock 5p-a-litre off the price of filling up at its supermarkets for people who spend £40 in store at the supermarket.

But Sainsbury’s went further - offering shoppers online and in store 10p a litre off their petrol and diesel as long as they bought a basket of goods worth £60 or more.

Morrisons head of fuel Ashley Myers said: “Many customers are driving during the Bank Holiday weekend and we want to help them save when they fill up.”