Diesel hits £1.03 a litre

Fuel prices today soared past the £1-a-litre mark at fuel stations in the West Midlands.

Motorists were facing the record prices, of more than £4.54-a-gallon, following a Government's 2p litre rise.

Hauliers, bus companies and taxi drivers in the region today warned they were fighting a losing battle to survive because of the rising costs.

At Texaco's Molineux Service Station on Wolverhampton's A449 Stafford Road, diesel was being sold at 103.9p per litre, or £4.72 a gallon, with unleaded at 98.9p.

Customer John Dale, a fireplace fitter from Telford, said: "My boss pays and he has to pass the cost on to the customer. The extra money has to come from somewhere."

At another Texaco on Wolverhampton Road in Penkridge, the only service station in the village had diesel for sale at 100.9p, a rise from from 98.9p yesterday.

At a nearby station on the A5 at Gailey, diesel was £102.9. And at scores of other stations in the Black Country and Staffordshire, diesel was today priced at around 99p, with unleaded a penny or two cheaper.

The 2p rise, announced in Gordon Brown's final budget before becoming Prime Minister, took the average price per litre of diesel to around 99.77p and unleaded petrol to 97.8p.

Industry observers predict food prices will start to rise as large stores pass the increase on to customers.

A string of fuel duty hikes imposed by current Chancellor Alistair Darling over the next two years will add £3,000 a year to the running costs of the average heavy goods vehicle, according to industry experts.

Haulier Aspray Transport, which employs around 500 people at its base in Willenhall, warned the price rises will impact on jobs.

Managing director Stuart Laight said today: "These increases will have a huge impact on us. We have taken on 70 people this year, half of them needing training. I don't know whether we will be able to do that next year.

"For a lot of other companies that 2p per litre virtually wipes out their profits."

And Colin Cherrington, a 71-year-old sales manager who commutes to Wolverhampton from Worcestershire, said: "It will affect me because I do so many miles each week. I normally shop around and go to the supermarket because it is cheaper."

By Nick Pritchard and Simon Penfold