Firms fear being forced out of business by fuel hikes

The warning comes as motoring organisations declared a 'national fuel crisis' as a result of the ongoing increases, with pressure mounting on ministers to act.

The price of petrol saw its biggest daily hike in almost two decades on Wednesday, while experts predicted that by the end of the week the average family car would cost more than £100 to fill up.

Helena Parker-Wright, transport manager at W's Transport based near Fakenham, said: "It is going to go one of two ways. The government is going to provide help for businesses or companies are going to go under."

She called on ministers to find innovative solutions to the crisis.

"In some EU countries there is a fuel rebate system so that any business providing an essential service is allowed to reclaim a certain percentage back on their fuel usage," she said.

Fuel prices have been rising rapidly in recent months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine saw a global surge in oil prices.

In the spring statement, which chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in March, the UK government cut fuel duty by 5p a litre, in an effort to help businesses and motorists cope with the rises.

Helena Parker-Wright, transport manager at W's Transport, is urging the government to provide more help for businesses (Image: Helena Parker-Wright)

But Ms Parker-Wright said that her firm had not seen the 5p cut have any impact and urged further action.

W's Transport - which has been operating for nearly 20 years - has five trucks and 75pc of its costs are on fuel.

Along with the increases, Ms Parker-Wright said that in the last 12 months the business had also been hit by a hike in drivers' wages and kit costs.

But it is the fuel price rises that is having the biggest impact.

Louis Warnes, owner of Warnes Freight in Norwich, said prices had increased by 50pc in the last 12 months.

"We have had to mitigate this and other increases for consumables such as oil and motor parts by raising prices to our customers," he said.

The company has 20 lorries, costing roughly £2,600 per day to fill up.

Matthew Mark, at Fitzmaurice Carriers, in Norwich, said the firm was spending almost £30,000 every two weeks to fill its 40-strong fleet.

"About six months ago it was 20p per litre less - I can't see it stopping anytime soon which is a worry," he added.

Latest figures show that average cost of filling up a family car with petrol now stands at £99.40 after a rise of more than 2p a litre - the largest daily increase in 17 years.

The price of diesel has also rocketed by 1.5p a litre to a new record high of 186.57p per litre, pushing up the cost of filling an average family car to £102.61.

The RAC is calling for the government to introduce a temporary reduction to VAT charged on fuel and/or a further, deeper fuel duty cut.

Simon Williams, an RAC spokesman, said: "These are unprecedented times in terms of the accelerating cost of forecourt fuel.

"Sadly, it seems we are still some way from the peak.”

Who does your petrol money go to?

When filling up cars at the petrol pump, the cost of the fuel does not just go to the producer and the retailer.

A large proportion goes to the government through fuel duties and VAT.

According to the RAC, 30pc of the cost is fuel duty and 17pc VAT.

Some also goes towards the cost of biofuels which are added to petrol.

The biggest percentage, 44pc, goes to the supplier.

The retailers' profits make up just 2pc of the price.

During the pandemic the price of crude oil – which is what makes petrol and diesel – fell as demand dried up.

When countries began emerging from lockdowns, demand shot up leading to a rise in prices.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has worsened the situation.

This has been compounded by the oil that is used to make petrol being paid for in dollars and the pound is weak against the dollar, making it even more costly for the UK market.