FUEL prices have risen again for the third month in a row with the cost of a litre of diesel nudging £1.30 on some Dorset forecourts.

The cost of filling up is now at its highest since December 2014, putting pressure on household budgets.

And there are huge variations in prices with as much as 9p per litre difference.

At the Shell garage in Barrack Road, Christchurch, a litre of diesel costs 128.9p but at Tesco in Riverside Avenue, just two miles away, it was just 119.9p yesterday morning.

The price of petrol at the same station is 118.9p.

The offer attracted large numbers of motorists looking for a cheaper tank of fuel.

By lunchtime yesterday, the forecourt was busy, with delays at the pumps as drivers filled their cars.

Across the UK a litre of unleaded petrol costs an average of 122.24p and diesel 125.04p with a two per cent increase in the price of oil being blamed.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “The start of 2018 hasn’t been good for motorists as they’ve had to endure their third consecutive monthly increase at the pumps.

“Both petrol and diesel are now at their highest points for more than three years which is bound to be making a dent in household budgets.”

Filling a 55-litre family car with petrol now costs £67.23 with the diesel equivalent more expensive at £68.77.

This is in stark contrast to the cheapest point of 2017 in July when a tank of unleaded was £4.35 cheaper and a diesel fill-up was £5.51 cheaper.

The RAC is calling for British supermarkets to cut at least 2p off a litre of petrol and diesel as the price of wholesale fuel falls.

Mr Williams said: “There is a glimmer of hope that some of the heat in the forecourt price of fuel could cool in February as our current two-week forecast shows reductions of a penny for petrol and two pence for diesel.

“Whether this will filter through at the pumps is questionable as retailers are generally loath to pass on wholesale savings when they consider them to be marginal.

“We urge fuel retailers to be fair to motorists and pass on the current savings in the wholesale price of petrol and diesel at the pump.”

Mr Williams said he hoped supermarkets aren’t “resting on their laurels”.

“There is clearly scope for both petrol and diesel to be slashed by another 2p a litre at least,” he said.

“We hope they are not resting on their laurels, thinking they’ve done enough to keep motorists quiet by announcing some cuts last week when the wholesale price continues to go lower and lower.”

Latest figures from the AA reveal that costs in the south west are around average, with most expensive fuel in the south east.