MOTORISTS in Oxfordshire are routinely paying more than £1 for a litre of petrol because of rising oil prices.

The average cost of unleaded petrol broke the £1 barrier in Oxford yesterday, and is now at 100.1p per litre - higher than the national average of 100.08p.

In Oxfordshire, the average cost of unleaded petrol is 102.9p per litre.

The AA said the cost of a litre has risen by 1.1p since Friday and predicted further price rises in coming weeks - heaping misery on motorists paying up to 105.9p per litre in Oxfordshire and 101.9p in Oxford.

Diesel has also shot up in price, with one station in Bicester charging 109p per litre yesterday.

Industry experts said the price hikes had been brought about by rises in the price of crude oil - which is now approaching $100 a barrel.

Mother-of-four Jackie Floyd, 38, from Aldrich Road, Cutteslowe, Oxford, said: "It is terrible. I think it is awful. It is not good at all for families.

"It is going to cost a lot more to run vehicles. I do not think it is very good when I am watching the petrol gauge go down all the time."

Her partner Colin Straughan, 35, added: "The cost of petrol is scandalous, but what can you do? You have got to use the car."

Robert Gregory, 38, from Meriden Court in Wallingford, had £70 worth of diesel stolen from his Ford Transit pick-up on Sunday night.

He said: "Diesel gets nicked a lot. It is not a new thing but it is going to get worse because of the prices - nobody can afford to carry on running vehicles at these prices."

Saj Rana, manager of A 2 B Taxis in Cricket Road, Cowley, said: "The drivers are not happy now it has broken the £1 barrier."

Andrew Howard, head of road safety for the AA, said that a number of retailers had been holding back from breaking the £1 barrier for as long as they could.

He said that now the cost of petrol had risen above £1 he expected them to increase prices even more to regain money they had lost by trying to stay under £1.

Mr Howard said: "Everyone has got to be thinking about rising fuel prices for some time ahead."

He suggested slowing speed, removing roof racks and driving more smoothly as ways to decrease fuel consumption.

Brendan McLoughlin, co-founder of website www.petrolprices.com, said: "I think the price is going to keep going up.

"Oxford is exactly similar to where the rest of the country is at the moment."

Mr McLoughlin suggested motorists should buy petrol at independent and less busy stations for the next couple of weeks because they were less likely to be buying in fuel at the new higher prices.