Next time you have a grumble about the spiralling costs of fuel, spare a thought for Geoff Wheeler.o A keen motorcycle enthusiast, Mr Wheeler, 57, is the proud owner of a 1903 Quadrant Tricycle which runs on fuel that costs more than £8 a litre.

While petrol prices have reached 122.9p per litre for unleaded in the city, and diesel has gone up to as much as 134.9p, Mr Wheeler is paying a whopping £8.44 per litre for his fuel.

Mr Wheeler, of Cropredy, near Banbury, said: "It could reach the point where it is so expensive it is not feasible to run it any more, but I hope it doesn't come to that.

"It runs on a special fuel called SBP1corr which is only made by one company that I have been able to find. And I have to buy 25 litres at a time.

"The bike has an early combustion engine which runs on the fuel's vapours. I've had the bike for about five or six years and in that time the price of fuel has doubled."

Despite his fears over the cost, it did not stop him from taking part in the annual Banbury Run, which was held on Sunday, June 22, and the Pioneer Veteran Motorcycle Run from London to Brighton in March.

He added: "It probably cost me somewhere between £60 and £70 to take part in that event.

"That's one of the reasons why I can only really use it twice a year these days.

"The rise in the cost of petrol has definitely had an impact on the price I pay, that and the fact that it's only produced in such small quantities."

Mr Wheeler said the firm that he buys the fuel from, in Birmingham, had told him that it may not be able to continue supplying him.

He added: "Every time I call up and ask if they have got any in, they always say 'I'm not sure if we have any of that left'. Then they call me back saying they have found some in the corner of their warehouse. The last time I called they said they weren't sure how much longer they would be selling it though."