Diesel hits £6.50 a gallon

The cost of diesel has reached the equivalent of £6.50 a gallon, according to AA figures.

On average, motorists are paying 142.99p a litre (or £6.50 a gallon) for diesel, with petrol now at 137.24p a litre (or £6.24 a gallon).

A year ago, average petrol prices were 121.43p a litre, with diesel at 122.83p.

Compared with a year ago, it is now costing nearly £8 more to fill a typical 50-litre tank with petrol, while filling up with diesel is now more than £10 more expensive, the AA said.

It added that a two-car family was now paying £33.57 more a month for petrol than a year ago, while the extra cost of filling an 80-litre diesel tank in a commercial van was £16.13.