FUEL prices have soared to their highest level in two years and Worcester's drivers must shop around to avoid a lottery at city pumps.

A litre of petrol reached an average of £1.17 in the UK on Monday but the average is even higher in Worcester at £1.18 per litre (PetrolPrices.com), higher than at any point since December 2014.

However, a drive around Worcester today revealed there was also a 6p per litre gulf for unleaded AND diesel between the cheapest and most expensive garages within Worcester itself, suggesting drivers should shop around.

In April last year motorists could cash in as petrol prices hovered around the £1 per litre mark at some garages in the county.

In January 2015 we reported how independent garage owner Velautham Sarveswaran was the first in the country to reduce the price of unleaded to 99.7p per litre for unleaded (and 109.7p for diesel) at all four of his garages, including the one in Alcester Road, Redditch.

Now the lowest price in the Worcester is 115.9p per litre for unleaded and 118.9 for diesel at Worcester's Tesco Express in London Road, Worcester followed by Sainsburys in Blackpole in Windermere Drive (116.9p for unleaded, 119.9p for diesel).

Tesco in Millwood Drive, Warndon Villages (116.9p for unleaded, 120.9p for diesel), the BP garage Whittington Road charged (117.9p for unleaded, 120.9p for diesel).

The Texaco garage in Tolladine Road was charging 118.9p for unleaded and 120.9p for diesel while Tolladine Service Station charged the same.

The BP garage in Blackpole charged 118.9p for unleaded and 121.9p for diesel.

The Texaco in Droitwich Road charged 118.9p for unleaded and 121.9p for diesel.

The Esso garage in Castle Street charged 118.9p for unleaded and 121.9p for diesel.

Two of the most expensive garages were the BP M&S at Lower Wick in Worcester which charged 121.9p for unleaded and 124.9p for diesel.

The nearby Murco garage at Powick also charged the same as the garage in Lower Wick for unleaded and diesel.

The data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy shows that petrol and diesel prices rose by more than three pence per litre in the past four weeks.

The increase in pump prices follows a 24 per cent rise in the price of oil, from 45 US dollars (£37) in mid-November to 56 US dollars (£46) by the end of December.

This was driven by a deal between Opec and other major oil producers in November to curb output.

Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: "With pump prices up again, the cost of an average tank of fuel is around £10 more today than it was a year ago."

Rail fares in Britain also rose by an average of 2.3 per cent on Monday.

Worcester's MP Robin Walker said he was glad to see Worcester's prices were nearer to the average than they had been in the past.

He said: "I'm glad the gap has started to close over the last few years. A lot of that relates to competition from supermarkets."

Mr Walker believes motorists would benefit from more competition, particularly if the city had an Asda petrol station or a Morrisons.

Mr Walker said: "The evidence is they tend to drive the prices down further."

He also stressed that petrol and diesel would be far more expensive if it was not for the Government's freezes of fuel duty as laid out in the Autumn Statement.

"If we had stuck to the policies of the previous Government fuel would be 20p more expensive than it is now."