MOTORISTS hoping to find a litre of petrol for less than £1 in Huntingdonshire are facing an almost impossible task. Recent rises in fuel prices across the country have been reflected in the district and a straw poll conducted by The Hunts Post on Monday

MOTORISTS hoping to find a litre of petrol for less than £1 in Huntingdonshire are facing an almost impossible task.

Recent rises in fuel prices across the country have been reflected in the district and a straw poll conducted by The Hunts Post on Monday could not find a single outlet charging less than £1 for a litre of unleaded.

Even at supermarket petrol stations, which traditionally offer cheap fuel, the prices were all over the £1-mark, with one petrol station worker describing the fuel as 'liquid gold'.

In Ramsey, the Shell Garage was charging motorists 100.9p for petrol and 104.9p for diesel, while at the Total Garage in St Ives, petrol was 101.9p per litre and diesel was retailing at 104.9p.

Even at Sainsbury's in Huntingdon, the petrol price was 101.9p, with diesel retailing at 102.9p and at Tesco in St Neots, petrol was retailing at 101.9p while diesel hit the heights at 105.9p.

On Monday, Cambourne's Morrisons store was offering one of the best deals in the area with unleaded fuel for 99.9p, while diesel was retailing at 101.9p.

However, there is one way to make your money stretch further and get petrol for less than £1 a litre, and that is by using the money off voucher on page 29 of The Hunts Post.

Readers can obtain a 3p per litre discount on their fuel at various BP filling stations, including the St Ives outlet. Others stations taking part can be found in Elizabeth Way in Cambridge (Jet), Soham (BP), Girton (BP), March (Jet), Arrington (Total), and Carr Road, Peterborough (BP).

Pat Nicholson, from the professional drivers association, said: "There does not seem to be any sign of fuel prices coming down again - we are as much in the dark as anyone else.

"What is certain is that haulage firms are being driven out of business by the ever-spiralling price of petrol."

INFORMATION: Motorists can visit www.petrolprices.com to get regular updates about petrol prices in the area. Registration is required for the free site, which puts the average price of unleaded in Hunts at 102.3p and diesel at 105p.