Soaring fuel prices will see diesel to hit more than £3 by the weekend which could bring the nation to a halt

Motorists are being warned to expect to pay at least £2 a litre with diesel to hit £3 by the weekend at UK forecourts which could bring the nation to a halt.

Fuel prices are rising at a rate of 5p a day and at one petrol station in Chelsea, London they were selling diesel at £2.19 a pitre and petrol at a staggering £2.18.9p.

Simon Williams, of the RAC, said, “The cost of filling a 55-litre family car with petrol is now £87 – £7 more than it was at the start of the year.”

Former Cabinet Minister Robert Jenrick said the Ukraine war, plus soaring costs of heating a home and rising food prices, could be “the most difficult economic year we’ve seen in my lifetime.”

CEBR deputy chairman Douglas McWilliams said, “The economy will effectively be on a partial wartime footing as we reduce our dependence on Russian oil and work with Europe to reduce dependence on Russian gas.”

FairFuelUK said the extra £2bn in VAT from soaring fuel prices over the last year “is more than enough to give drivers some respite,” in a plea to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak.