British motorists spend...

British motorists spend a huge ТЈ6.2million an hour at the pumps! ThatтЂ™s more than any of our closest European neighbours, according to the latest figures. In fact, drivers in Britain have consistently paid more to fill up than those in France, Spain, Italy and Germany since 2000, the study by online comparison site uSwitch.com reveals.

In the UK, motorists clock up an average annual bill of ТЈ1,753 тЂ“ around ТЈ350 more than drivers in Spain, who spend around ТЈ1,410. Differences in tax are largely to blame.

The UK pays the highest levy on diesel, with 57 pence in every pound going straight to Government coffers. Forecourts are also being taken to task for their slow reactions to recent drops in global oil prices. The price per barrel has fallen from record highs close to 0 (ТЈ78) last month to around 0 (ТЈ62).

Petrol Retailers Association director Ray Holloway says thatтЂ™s because filling station owners bought the fuel at a higher price: тЂњThey canтЂ™t afford to make a loss. TheyтЂ™ll drop prices once the more expensive stocks have been used.тЂќ

But AA president Edmund King argues this logic is never applied when prices rise. тЂњThey react very quickly when fuel is going up and theyтЂ™ve still got cheap reserves in stock. They canтЂ™t have it both ways,тЂќ he said.