Motorists are enjoying a welcome boost to their finances as petrol prices came tumbling down across Thanet. The savings are the result of a price war between the main supermarkets which began last weekend.

Tesco has the cheapest on the island at 113.9p per litre at its Extra branch in Broadstairs and at its Manston service station, according to petrolprices.com. A 2p drop per litre results in a saving of about £1.20 for filling up an average car.

Sainsbury’s in Dadson Way, Ramsgate,Thanet selling unleaded petrol at 115.9p per litre.

It’s only another pence up to Thanet’s third cheapest, with Shell Canterbury Road East in Ramsgate and Gulf Broadway, Broadstairs pricing theirs at 116.9p per litre. One of the most expensive is Thanet is Minster’s Texaco, with pump prices at 119.0p per litre - which is nearer to the national average.

An AA spokesman said: “The difference is down to the type and brand of a retailer in a particular location. A supermarket’s presence would normally bring prices down locally, but the Big Four have stopped being competitive across the board. Asda continues to be the main low-price influence, with Morrison not far behind. Over last weekend, Tesco also joined in with a 2p drop across their forecourts.

There will be the occasional non-supermarket retailer who will match or even undercut the supermarkets but the majority have been slow to pass on a 3p fall in wholesale prices since mid to late February. We would expect those to begin to catch up with supermarket price falls. Meanwhile, drivers need to keep their eyes open for the lower prices.

“As they commute or drive around the area, they will spot the cheaper forecourts. Many drivers already know where the competitive retailers usually are and will fill up there. The main problem is the lack of transparency in the road fuel market. Were drivers able to see movements in wholesale prices, as they can in the US, south east Asia and Australia, they would know when prices should be starting to fall and know to start favouring competitive petrol stations until the others catch up.”

The price drop comes as the cost of oil has dipped from $55 a barrel last month to $50 in the last two weeks.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “The wholesale price of fuel has fallen in the last fortnight so it’s good to see this being quickly passed on by retailers.

“We were at the point where motorists should have been starting to feel aggrieved that pump prices were higher than they ought to be. The last thing retailers need is for the public’s trust in their pricing policies to be undermined.”