Asda sparked a supermarket fuel price war today by announcing cuts to the price of its petrol and diesel.

From tomorrow, Asda will cut 1p a litre off petrol and 2p a litre off diesel at its fuel stations.

The company said motorists will pay no more than 128.7p a litre for petrol and no more than 135.7p a litre for diesel.

Asda's petrol trading director Andy Peake said: "With Christmas just around the corner, and finances tighter than ever, we're pleased we can do our bit to make our customers' hard-earned cash go a little further."

Rival supermarket chains were expected to announce their own cuts later.

RAC technical director David Bizley said: "It really is starting to look like Christmas - not only have we persuaded the Chancellor to scrap January's 3p-a-litre fuel duty increase, but now Asda are making festive travel more affordable.

"An RAC poll found that three-quarters (77%) of people plan to drive an average of 260 miles to visit friends or family this Christmas, covering some four billion miles. So this is good news for them at the most expensive time of the year."