‘The cost has become absurd’: UK motorists lament £100-a-tank petrol

theguardian.com:

“I won’t be going away nearly so often if this continues, and I’ve already had to come out of retirement to meet rising living costs,” says Carol Halliwell – one of many motorists making a pitstop at Burton-in-Kendal services on her way to the annual horse fair in Appleby.

Sipping tea in her camper van as she plots out the route northbound, Halliwell shares stories of her travels around the UK, but explains it won’t be long before petrol prices become prohibitively high and she has to sell the van.

On Thursday, figures published by data firm Experian showed that the average cost of filling a typical family car with petrol had exceeded £100 for the first time.

Burton-in-Kendal services, on the M6 where Lancashire meets Cumbria, is the last petrol station drivers pass before they hit the Lake District, and it is one of a number across the country now charging more than £2 a litre of unleaded fuel.

Paul Friday, from Liverpool, has stopped off with his family en route to a weekend break in Scotland. “Luckily, I filled the tank before we left, and I’m very glad I did. The cost has become absurd,” he says.

Like Friday, Jim Wight was “shocked” to see the prices when he pulled up. “I’m driving from Torquay up to Dunoon in Scotland to see my dad,” he says. “I just need enough fuel to get me over the border. Fortunately, I can afford to absorb the price increase, but there’ll be many who can’t.”

It isn’t just car drivers who are feeling the pinch. Mark Tyme, a biker from Blackpool, explains that in 40 years of motorbike ownership, this is the first time he has had to worry about filling up his tank. “I attend rallies throughout the year,” he says. “It’s what I love. But since I retired I have to stick to those happening within a 50-mile