Britain's petrol prices vary by 13p a litre

British drivers are now experiencing big petrol price disparities, according to figures out today.

The average price of unleaded petrol in the UK now varies by as much as 13.6p a litre, statistics from fuel management company Arval PHH showed.

For the week ending April 23, a litre of unleaded was as little as 73.4p a litre in Thanet, Kent, but as much as 86.7p on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides.

Arval PHH’s business customer division managing director Clive Forsythe said: “High prices are not peculiar to remote areas: some retailers in the Home Counties may be selling petrol at prices like those found in the Scottish islands.”

The company’s figures showed that in March 2004 the average price of unleaded petrol was 77.88p a litre. The cheapest was to be found in Thanet, Kent, at an average price of 71.9p a litre, while the most expensive was at Lerwick, Shetland Isles, at an average price of 86.7p.

The average price of diesel in March 2004 was 79.31p a litre. The cheapest was to be found in Fraddon in Cornwall and in Peebles on the Scottish Borders, both at an average price of 74.9p. The most expensive was at Brodick, Isle of Arran, at an average price of 88.5p.