MOTORISTS in the region are facing the highest petrol prices in the country, an investigation has revealed.When they fill up at the pumps with unleaded 95 petrol, drivers in East Anglia have to pay an average of 90.

MOTORISTS in the region are facing the highest petrol prices in the country, an investigation has revealed.

When they fill up at the pumps with unleaded 95 petrol, drivers in East Anglia have to pay an average of 90.5p per litre - more than it costs in any other part of the UK according to the AA Motoring Trust.

This price is more than one pence a litre higher then in the north west of England where it is just 89.2p.

And it is not just the price of unleaded which is higher in East Anglia.

The region has the third highest diesel price, at 94.7p per litre, behind Northern Ireland at 95.1p and Wales at 94.9p.

Mark Cole, public relations officer for the Co-op East of England which runs several Esso petrol stations in Suffolk, said: “The margins that we have are tiny, they barely cover the price of getting the petrol.

“We believe our prices are competitive and we can't go any lower.”

Last year there was anger as the price of petrol went over the £1-a-litre mark and, despite the subsequent dip Ruth Bridger of the AA Motoring Trust said prices will continue to rise in the long run.

She said: “East Anglia is normally at the top of the prices because many of the petrol stations are in rural areas. This means there is less competition and it is competition that drives prices down.

“Smaller rural retailers just can't compete with the low prices in the supermarkets.”

And she added that it was unlikely that the high prices would decrease soon.

She said that the price of a barrel of oil had increased by $1.5 between February and March and this price influenced the prices customers pay at the pumps.

She said: “Prices will keep going up for the foreseeable future.

“This is mainly because demand is high, particularly from places like China, and there is instability in the oil producing countries.”