Calls to shelve fuel duty rise on the 1st October

Government plans to raise fuel duty by 1p a litre on Friday (October 1) should be shelved, according to the AA.

Although average UK fuel prices have fallen for the fourth month in a row, drivers are still paying £4.36-a-tank more for petrol than a year ago.

A $6 leap in the cost of oil and a weaker pound during the past month have cast a shadow over the cost of filling up in the coming weeks, with the 1p a litre rise in fuel duty to petrol and diesel prices less than a week away.

The average UK price of petrol fell 1.27p, from 116.52 p a litre to 115.25, between mid August and mid September. This time last year, petrol cost 106.54p a litre. Diesel now costs 118.02p a litre, compared to 119.15 a month ago, and is now nearly 11p a litre more expensive than a year ago.