Bradford demolition firm's fuel bill rises by £20,000 A WEEK as petrol prices soar

As prices at the pumps reached an 18-year high, Thomas Crompton, managing director of the demolition firm of the same name, also warned of future petrol and diesel thefts from those desperate for “liquid gold.”

In a move that could send prices soaring towards the £2 per litre mark, the UK announced yesterday that it would phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by the end of the year.

Drivers have been hit by the steepest weekly hike in fuel prices in at least 18 years due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The price of fuel at a garage in Wibsey yesterday

The average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts rose from 149.2p on February 28 to 153.0p on Monday, according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Unleaded prices at pumps in the Bradford district have soared towards the 160p per litre mark, while diesel on many local forecourts now stands at between 170p and 176p per litre and rising.

Mr Crompton says fuel prices have gone ‘sky high’ as he tries to keep his fleet of more than 60 trucks on the road.

He says his diesel bill has risen by £20,000 over the last two months and fears it could get worse. This increase has taken his monthly fuel bill to £180,000.

Mr Compton also warned of potential fuel thefts, branding fuel ‘liquid gold’.

He said: “It’s drastic. We’re working for the fuel now.

It’s a constant worry. I hope that it will settle

“It is having a massive effect on us. It is also affecting the expansion of our business.

“We’re just watching and seeing what we can do.

“It’s a bit of a bad situation at the moment. It’s going up daily.

“I don’t know where it’s going to end.

“It’s worrying times. We do a litre a mile for our trucks.

“But people in Ukraine are a lot worse than us. We just have to see.”

Mr Crompton added that fuel delivery firms are unable to stick to a fixed quoted price for fuel to supply to his firm as the prices are fluctuating and rising constantly.

Meanwhile, nationally, the average diesel prices rose from 153.4p to 158.6p over the same period.

The weekly increases of 3.8p for petrol and 5.2p for diesel are the largest in records dating back to June 2003.

They mean the cost of filling up a typical 55-litre family car has increased by more than £2 over the past week.

Oil prices have spiked due to concerns over the reliability of supplies amid the war in Ukraine.

Unleaded seems to be around the 160p per litre mark at garages in the Bradford district, while diesel seems to be between 170.9p and 176.9 per litre.

The Telegraph & Argus visited five petrol stations around Bradford yesterday to compare prices.

During our search, we found the Texaco garage in St Helena Road, Wibsey, appears to be among the most expensive in Bradford. Unleaded costs 163.9p per litre there, while diesel is an eye-watering 176.9 per litre.

Asda on Rooley Lane was the cheapest of the five we visited, with unleaded at 152.7 per litre, which was still a 5p per litre rise less than 24 hours before.

Shell on Manningham Lane was selling unleaded for 158.9p and diesel 170.9p per litre. The BP garage on Wakefield Road, Bradford, had unleaded at 159.9 and diesel at 171.9 per litre.

Figures from data firm Experian Catalist based on a different methodology from the one used by BEIS suggest the national average cost per litre of petrol on Monday was 156.4p, while diesel was 162.3p.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “With the tragedy in Ukraine showing no signs of abating, it looks like we all need to brace for forecourt prices to continue upward, not least because they tend to lag oil price movements by a week or two.

“Inflation is hitting household budgets on all sides. The fact that transport is routinely the single biggest area of household expenditure will make forecourt price hikes particularly hard.

“Whilst higher pump prices may make more people consider switching to electric cars, that’s not a realistic overnight fix. In the short term, the best most of us can do is look for ways to drive less, perhaps by sharing trips or working from home.”