Average petrol prices have now past the 132p a litre mark.

It means that for the first time the cost has reached £6 a gallon, the AA has said.

The average price of petrol at the pumps is now 132.12p a litre, while diesel has also hit a new record at 137.92p a litre.

The cost of petrol has risen 6.93p a litre since the start of the year, and 1.68p a litre in the past week, according to the motoring organisation.

A year ago, a litre of petrol on average cost 114.30p a litre and diesel was 115.31p. For a family with two petrol cars, the monthly cost of fuel has risen from £242.70 in March 2010 to £280.54 now.

In the same period, the price of oil has risen from around 85 US dollars a barrel to 113 US dollars.