ABERYSTWYTH motorists are being ‘fleeced’ at the fuel pump with prices in the north of the county as much as 15 pence dearer than in the south.

Fuel prices around the Aberystwyth area remain higher than anywhere else in mid and west Wales with Morrisons currently charging 192.9p for a litre of unleaded and 199.9p for a litre of diesel.

Morrisons forecourts elsewhere are as much as 15p a litre cheaper, with the supermarket selling unleaded for 177.9p and diesel at 191.9p.

Heading east from Aberystwyth, Morrisons in Newtown is currently selling unleaded at 183.9p a litre and diesel at 193.9p.

Cardigan currently has the cheapest fuel prices in the region with the Tesco filling station selling unleaded at 166.9p a litre and diesel at 180.9p a litre.

The BP garages in Penrhyncoch and Ponterwyd are currently the cheapest places to fill up in the Aberystwyth area, with a litre of unleaded costing 186.9p and a litre of diesel at 193.9p, with the prices dropping twice in the last week.

Speaking about fuel prices in Aberystwyth, Bow Street county councillor Paul Hinge said motorists were being ‘royally fleeced’ by fuel prices.

He said: “Travelling down to Pembrey on Tuesday, 19 July, I was getting angrier and angrier after every mile as I passed retail petrol stations on my route that were selling their fuel, especially petrol, at much lower rates than we are being charged here in the northern part of Ceredigion.

“The retail outlet in Llwyncelyn was 4p per litre cheaper. Then travelling down through Llandysul, Pencader and Rhydargaeau there were independent outlets who were 10 to 13p cheaper than outlets in Aber.

“I nearly blew a gasket when passing Morrisons in Carmarthen where the price per litre was 10p less than at its site in Aberystwyth.

“Having worked in the oil industry, I am only too aware what the price differential for delivery of a full tanker load to Aberystwyth costs and it’s certainly nowhere near 10p per litre, so who’s making excessive profits on the back of our already struggling rural economy?

“So from where I’m standing, we are being royally fleeced by these companies purely because they can.

“We need to change this position, and change it fast, as it seems there is favour being shown to the larger conurbations to the detriment of the more needier rural areas.”

The Cambrian News asked Morrisons for a comment on fuel prices in Aberystwyth.

A spokesperson for the supermarket said: “In the UK petrol prices vary from town to town and even neighbourhood to neighbourhood and we will always strive to be competitive in each local area. Occasionally this can mean price differences between different areas open up. We continually review our prices and will look to reduce this difference as soon as we can.”

Ceredigion MP Ben Lake told the Cambrian News: “Rising living costs are placing severe pressure on household budgets, and in rural areas higher fuel costs add further strain.

“Over the past year I have consistently raised the need to address the impact of higher petrol and diesel prices in House of Commons debates, for sadly people in Ceredigion have few alternatives to car transport in order to access key services, let alone to reach their place of work or education.

“A key policy that the UK Government could pursue to offer some assistance in this regard would be the extension of the Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme to Ceredigion.

“I have met with Ministers from the Treasury and the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy to make the case for Ceredigion’s inclusion in the scheme, and hope that they will move

“The Competition and Markets Authority recently conducted a review of competition in the road fuel market, and raised concerns of the growing gap between crude oil prices and the wholesale prices of petrol and diesel at refineries.

“As a consequence the CMA has announced a more detailed market study to establish the causes of this discrepancy, in addition to exploring whether the discrepancy between fuel prices in rural and urban areas is justified.

“I welcome the CMA’s announcement of a full investigation, and shall be requesting that they conduct further work to investigate the nature of more local price discrepancies.

“One source of distress for Ceredigion residents has been the way in which prices differ significantly in different parts of the county, and I believe the CMA should establish the reasons for the discrepancy.”

What do you think of fuel prices in Aberystwyth and other parts of rural Wales? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]