A PETROL station owner has urged motorists not to blame him for spiralling fuel costs and has instead pointed the finger at the Government.

Prices at the petrol pump have this week hit record highs in the county as the cost of inflation starts to hit families across Oxfordshire.

An Oxford Times survey of pump prices has revealed that the county's most expensive litre of unleaded petrol costs 111.9p while a litre of diesel has hit almost 119.9p.

And there seems to be no let up in the price rises, with industry experts warning a litre of petrol is likely to hit the £1.50 mark in Oxfordshire before the end of the year.

The owner of Station Road Garage, in Shipton-under-Wychwood, who is currently charging 107.9p for a litre of petrol and 118.9p for diesel, has cautioned that many independent stations could be put out of business by the rising cost of oil.

Crude is currently trading at around 107 US dollars a barrel after breaking the 100 US dollars a barrel mark in January.

David Johnson, who runs Station Road Garage, said: "It's very hard running a small independent petrol station.

"We are operating on a margin of less than four per cent per litre and that is halved if someone pays us by certain credit cards.

"Rising costs of oil does affect sales and perhaps people are thinking twice before they use their car.

"It is pretty rubbish at the moment and I am afraid a lot of independent garages are not going to survive if this carries on."

Highest pump prices in Oxfordshire are at BP Welcome Break petrol station at Wheatley services where diesel costs 119.9p a litre and unleaded 111.9p.

Across the county the average price for a litre of unleaded fuel is 107.4p, while for diesel it currently stands at 113.4p.

But they are not far off the top pump prices in England - in Essex diesel is 121.9p and unleaded 114.9p.

The average price for a litre of unleaded across the UK is 106.5p with a litre of diesel at 113.4p.

When Mr Johnson bought the garage 40 years ago he said he was selling diesel at 25p a gallon - including a pint of oil - but now it costs £5.39 a gallon, after the cost of his diesel rose by 4.5p a litre last week.

He said: "There is no way we can absorb any more of the cost increases. We absorbed a little bit of the increase last week, but we can't do it anymore.

"If you take the Government tax away the price of fuel is still relatively low. The real people that are making money out of this are the Government.

"The customers are complaining a bit, but if they do I show them my invoices and ask if they could make a better job of running the station."

Louise Doherty, a spokesman for Petrol Prices.com said: "The typical petrol retailer profit margin is around seven per cent per litre.

"However, two thirds of the cost of fuel goes straight to the Government. We think both diesel and petrol prices will hit £1.50 per litre in Oxfordshire by the end of the year.

"We keep going through all sorts of psychological barriers like £1 a litre, £5 a gallon and it does not seem to have had any effect on the cost.

"Speculators are pushing the price of oil up against a weak dollar and there doesn't seem to be any end to this."

Source: Witney Gazette