-as litre now costs ?1.20
Petrol prices hit an all-time high just a fraction short of 120p a litre yesterday, with warnings of further rises to come.
Experts said it was 'a dark day for motorists' as the cost of a litre of unleaded hit 119.9p.
Millions of motorists are being forced to pay even more as this is merely the average price.
One garage in Milton Keynes was charging 130.9p yesterday - ?6 a gallon while motorway service stations charge a lot more than the average.
A family with a typical 50-litre car is now having to pay ?60 to fill up. In May last year - the last time a litre cost less than ?1 - the same family would have paid just ?50.
The combination of the weak and falling pound and the soaring wholesale price of petrol has triggered the rise.
The wholesale price of petrol - which is only bought in dollars - is up from $680 a ton at the beginning of the year to more than $800 today.
This is despite the price of crude oil going down, according to analysis partly because of a lack of refining capacity.
To make matters worse, fuel duty rose by 1p on April 1, a further 1p rise is due in October with a final 0.76p increase in January 2011.
Last night, one motoring source said: 'My biggest fear is that we will see British motorists going back to the days of the 1960s when driving was the preserve of the middle classes.'
Paul Watters, the AA's head of public affairs, said: 'For many drivers, the record price underlines what they already know - the cost of petrol is becoming increasingly unsustainable.'
He added that prices are almost guaranteed to keep on rising, and are likely to hit an average of 121p per litre within days.
The previous record was 119.7p in July 2008. Diesel averages at just over ?1.20.
A recent poll of nearly 17,500 AA members revealed that 67 per cent are cutting back on using their car or reducing other costs so they have enough money to spend on petrol.
Adrian Tink, motorist strategist at the RAC, said: 'This is a dark day for motorists.'
In a further blow, the Independent Democratic Union said its AA patrolmen members will go on a 48-hour strike from May 2, the day before the next Bank Holiday. It is the first national walkout since the company was set up in 1905.
Members are furious about changes to their defined benefit pension scheme.
But Edmund King, president of the AA, said motorists will be fully covered because the majority of patrolmen did not vote to strike.
'We would not leave people stranded on motorways or dual carriageways,' he said.
Soaring prices: The average cost of petrol is 120p a litre
Petrol prices hit an all-time high just a fraction short of 120p a litre yesterday, with warnings of further rises to come.
Experts said it was 'a dark day for motorists' as the cost of a litre of unleaded hit 119.9p.
Millions of motorists are being forced to pay even more as this is merely the average price.
One garage in Milton Keynes was charging 130.9p yesterday - ?6 a gallon while motorway service stations charge a lot more than the average.
A family with a typical 50-litre car is now having to pay ?60 to fill up. In May last year - the last time a litre cost less than ?1 - the same family would have paid just ?50.
The combination of the weak and falling pound and the soaring wholesale price of petrol has triggered the rise.
The wholesale price of petrol - which is only bought in dollars - is up from $680 a ton at the beginning of the year to more than $800 today.
This is despite the price of crude oil going down, according to analysis partly because of a lack of refining capacity.
To make matters worse, fuel duty rose by 1p on April 1, a further 1p rise is due in October with a final 0.76p increase in January 2011.
Last night, one motoring source said: 'My biggest fear is that we will see British motorists going back to the days of the 1960s when driving was the preserve of the middle classes.'
Paul Watters, the AA's head of public affairs, said: 'For many drivers, the record price underlines what they already know - the cost of petrol is becoming increasingly unsustainable.'
He added that prices are almost guaranteed to keep on rising, and are likely to hit an average of 121p per litre within days.
The previous record was 119.7p in July 2008. Diesel averages at just over ?1.20.
A recent poll of nearly 17,500 AA members revealed that 67 per cent are cutting back on using their car or reducing other costs so they have enough money to spend on petrol.
Adrian Tink, motorist strategist at the RAC, said: 'This is a dark day for motorists.'
In a further blow, the Independent Democratic Union said its AA patrolmen members will go on a 48-hour strike from May 2, the day before the next Bank Holiday. It is the first national walkout since the company was set up in 1905.
Members are furious about changes to their defined benefit pension scheme.
But Edmund King, president of the AA, said motorists will be fully covered because the majority of patrolmen did not vote to strike.
'We would not leave people stranded on motorways or dual carriageways,' he said.
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