The cost of petrol can vary by as much as eight pence per litre from one part of Kent to the next - and it's now more expensive than ever.

That's the claim from Folkestone's Peter Carroll, haulier and founder of FairFuelUK, the campaigning group fighting for a U-turn on the government's planned VAT hikes.

The councillor and haulier, with a base in Larkfield, hit out at the tax increases, on the day it was revealed the cost of fuel in this country is higher than it's ever been.

The AA revealed the startling facts - just as prices in Europe are falling.

It said the average price of a litre of petrol is nearly £1.29 - up half a penny from mid-January. Diesel has hit £1.34 a litre - a rise of more than 1p.

But Peter Carroll said he didn't blame the retailers, who had recently not passed on a cut in the wholesale price.

He said: "The real show in town when it comes to the price increases is not the retailers. It's the government who put on another penny in fuel duty in January, then increased VAT so that had an impact on fuel and, most serious of all, they're planning on April 1 to put a penny rise on duty, plus a rise to cover inflation."

He said that would work out at a massive 23p per gallon of fuel.

British motorists were paying some of the highest prices for diesel in Europe, with only Norwegians forking out more to fuel up.

The government was the main driver of petrol and diesel prices, he said.

Since the FairFuelUK campaign was set up - together with motoring journalist Quentin Willson - the site has been deluged with motorists signing up to fight the April increases.

Mr Carroll said he had heard from pensioners who cannot afford to get around, carers who can't look after people, and one man who commutes to work and then sleeps in his office four nights a week.

But small and medium-sized firms were now going out of business, he said.

He added: "It's nothing short of a fuel price crisis."

He called for the cost of fuel to be broken down into the amount paid in duty and taxes, and accused the government of making us fill up on tax at the pumps, rather than petrol.

He said: "The Chancellor is in serious danger of choking away the very economic recovery he needs.

"We're very close to dipping the economy back into this double dip recession."

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