COULD this be a taste of things to come?The £1 litre of petrol arrived today in Ipswich at the Nacton Road service station.Oil prices have been going up steadily over the last few weeks as the situation in Iraq and in the Middle East generally deteriorates.

COULD this be a taste of things to come?

The £1 litre of petrol arrived today in Ipswich at the Nacton Road service station.

Oil prices have been going up steadily over the last few weeks as the situation in Iraq and in the Middle East generally deteriorates.

Energy experts had today warned that the £1 a litre barrier for petrol could be breached by the end of the summer, but the breach has come earlier than expected in Ipswich.

But while the Esso station was advertising the high price, it was still possible to find “cheaper” fuel by shopping around.

At the nearby Sainsbury's superstore at Warren Heath, petrol was selling at less than 95p a litre.

Another quirk about the Nacton Road service station was that it seemed to be the only filling station where diesel was cheaper than unleaded petrol - the drivers of diesel cars get better fuel economy but usually have to pay about 2p a litre extra for it.

A spokeswoman for Esso said she did not know why the fuel was so much more expensive at the company's Nacton Road site.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown decided against an immediate increase in fuel duty in the budget this year - but said taxes would go up on September 1.

However he was coming under pressure from MPs and motoring organisations today to announce that the increase would not go ahead.

He will be under pressure to avoid a situation similar to that which sparked the fuel crisis of September 2000.