PETROL prices were at a record high yesterday as struggling motorists were warned further hikes were likely after Christmas.

The average price for a litre of unleaded in Oxford was £1.23 and just 0.2p less across the county, according to comparison website petrolprices.com. Diesel was an average of £1.27.07 in the city and £1.26.6 in Oxfordshire.

The AA said motorists were spending £8m more a day on the nation’s forecourts than last year as the rising price of crude oil was blamed for the latest record high.

Brendan McGloughan, managing director of petrolprices.com, said: “It has now broken above US$90 a barrel. That is a major psychological barrier to have gone through, so we can’t predict how the price will rise from now on.

“But we do know there will be a definite increase of 3.76p in January, with the VAT rise, so you could say the future isn’t looking great.”

He added: “It is now more important than ever to shop around, as drivers could save £4 or £5 by checking prices before they fill up.”

Dave Jones, 47, a mechanic from Blackbird Leys, said motorists were struggling and he had seen a change in the types of cars on the road.

He added: “I think you only see brand new cars and old bangers on the road now.

“People are running their cars as long as they can. You should see the state of some of the cars I see – you wonder how they’ve stayed on the road. It’s terrible.”

His daughter Amy Chandler races banger cars, but her father said petrol costs were making it increasingly difficult.

He said: “It’s becoming an expensive hobby.

“If I hadn’t got a decent wage, we definitely couldn’t carry on with it.”

The south east has the highest prices for unleaded. Locally, the highest petrol prices were in Wallingford and Bicester, where some garages were charging almost £1.31 a litre for unleaded.

Public transport companies are also affected, althought their fuel costs are stabilised for 12 months.

Philip Kirk, managing director of the Oxford Bus Company said: “After wages, fuel is one of our largest outgoings.

“In common with other transport operators we “hedge” our fuel costs by committing to a fixed diesel price for up to 12 months ahead.”

AA president Edmund King said: “This is a bleak mid-winter for millions of drivers.

“Milking motorists through higher fuel prices is over, as many are running dry and biting back, not because they want to but because they have no option.”

Rising fuel prices mean more drivers than ever are being forced to find alternative ways of travel.

Mum-of-two Julie Meikle, from Headington, joined her local car sharing scheme because of the cost of owning a vehicle.

She said: “My husband uses the car for work, but then our second car was just costing too much to run. With the insurance and tax on top of the petrol prices, the costs really mount up. And everything just seems to keep going up and up.”

The Headington car club was set up two years ago and has seen a large rise in people using its two cars.

Mrs Meikle said: “There are 43 users in Headington now and 245 people in total use the schemes across Oxford, in places like Cowley and Iffley.

“I think people more than ever are having to save money and find alternative ways to get around.”

  • The cheapest petrol stations in Oxfordshire on Wednesday were: For unleaded: 118.9 at BP on Park Street in Thame and Esso garage on Park Road in Faringdon. For diesel: 122.9 at Sainsbury’s on Oxford Road in Banbury, Morrisons on Cherwell Street in Banbury, BP on Park Street in Thame, Esso on Station Lane in Witney and Esso on Park Road in Faringdon.