Diesel prices exceed £2 a litre at hundreds of forecourts across Scotland

The price of diesel has exceeded £2 a litre at hundreds of Scottish forecourts, according to analysis by BBC Scotland News.

Some of the highest prices can be found at garages in Scotland's islands, where fuel is 50p a litre more expensive than that sold at supermarkets in the central belt.

Hauliers have described the cost to their businesses as "devastating" and say it now costs £250 a week more to fill up a lorry.

Motoring organisation the RAC said it expected the UK average price of diesel to hit a new record high over the weekend.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war has pushed up the cost of crude oil, leading to higher fuel and energy costs.

The UK government said it continued to protect British people and business, and there would not be an increase in fuel duty this year.

Analysis by BBC Scotland News suggests there are at least 226 sites - stretching from the Borders to Shetland - where the price of a litre of diesel is greater than £2.

Some of the highest prices are in island and rural areas, including 238.8p and 223p in the Hebrides and 209.0p and 208.9p in the Northern Isles.

South Uist-based haulier Norman MacAskill said it cost 32p a litre to fill a lorry's tank when he started in the haulage business 40 years ago, but it was now £2.22.

"Anyone who is running a lorry is absolutely devastated when they get their fuel bill at the end of the month. There's no business on earth that can withstand that increase in costs," he said.

MacAskill's haulage firm, N D MacAskill & Son, transports livestock around Inverness, Dingwall and Stirling but also further afield.

"We do a bit of livestock haulage from the north of Scotland down to the north of England," he said.

"It's a devastating cost on a fuel run on that job," he said.

MacAskill added: "This has been going on every year for the last 10 years now. The cost of running a haulage business has just gone over the top.

"There are dozens of haulage firms that have been established 50-60 years with big numbers of lorries going to the wall. When is this going to stop?"

Dave Neil, who runs Sinclair Haulage which serves Sanday, Stronsay and Eday in Orkney, said his business was spending £400 a week more on diesel than it was before the summer.

"It's a challenging situation," he said.

Neil said he was forced to add an extra fee to his customers' costs.

"It's probably the fairest way," he said. "When the fuel price drops we can take that surcharge away."

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) said fuel was costing operators roughly £250 a week extra per vehicle.

It has called on the UK government to scrap any planned fuel duty rises in January, March and April and to introduce an essential user rebate for coaches, lorries and vans.

Managing director Richard Smith said: "It's happening elsewhere. Spain, France and Italy already give commercial vehicle operators a diesel rebate. It's about time we caught up.

National Farmers' Union Scotland said rising prices were another unwelcome cost for farmers and crofters.

A spokesperson said: "Fuel is a significant input cost for farm businesses and increases feed directly into the cost of producing food.

"With many farmers currently working through harvest and other intensive autumn operations, there is no scope to reduce fuel use."

Crofter and musician Amy Henderson, from Kiltarlity, added: "It is just deflating. Life is hard enough as it is."

She said she was having to make "logistical decisions" around whether to use her car or truck.

Henderson added: "I have to take it into consideration when quoting prices for performing."

Inverness-based charity New Start Highland uses vans to collect and deliver donated items, such as furniture, to people in need.

Chief executive James Dunbar said: "Rising fuel prices have a direct impact on us as a charity, as well as the individuals we support.

"Transport is core to our operations, from collecting and delivering furniture so those facing crisis and hardship can access essential items, to running our enterprise services like removals and house clearances."

He said the charity was in the process of moving to a fully electrified fleet, but he said rising fuel costs directly affected the families it supported.

The RAC said the average UK record price of diesel would "almost certainly" be surpassed over the weekend.

Head of policy Simon Williams said: "The average UK price of diesel is teetering on the brink of a new all-time high at 198.32p, taking the cost of a 55-litre fill-up for a family car to £109.

"The UK now has the most expensive diesel in Europe by 12p a litre - ahead of Finland and the Netherlands."

He added: "Petrol is now averaging 173.6p – its highest price in more than four years. Petrol has risen nearly 12p in September and more than 40p since the Iran war began.

"Diesel is up 14.5p this month alone and 55p since 28 February."

The AA said its campaigning had persuaded the UK government to set up pump-price transparency.

It said there were now websites and phone apps drivers could use to check for the latest pump prices and where to find cheaper fuel.

The AA said there should be no scrapping of the Treasury's 5p cut in fuel duty, which was first introduced in March 2022. It added that there was a "good argument" for diesel getting further relief.

A spokesperson said: "While many big businesses pass the extra cost of diesel onto their customers, often via a sliding scale of fuel surcharges, smaller businesses don't automatically.

"These include taxi drivers, craftspeople, domestic repairs, vets, farriers and many who rely on vehicles to look after their customers."

The UK government said it had extended the temporary fuel duty cut until 31 December.

A spokesperson said: "Since the outset of the war in Iran, this government continues to protect the British people and businesses from this crisis.

"This means drivers benefit from the extension of the 5p fuel duty cut, with diesel 11p per litre cheaper until the end of the year than it would have been compared to plans inherited from the previous government."