HAULIERS and business chiefs have welcomed the reduction in fuel prices that has seen petrol drop below £1-a-litre for the first time in 12 months.

But the reduction, led by the supermarkets, has been questioned by East Lancashire forecourt operators who said they were struggling to keep pace with the clamour for falling prices.

At some supermarket forecourts petrol is now 97.7p per litre, down from its mid-July peak of 118p per litre.

The cost of diesel has also dropped sharply as crude oil trades at around $70-a-barrel, half what it was earlier this year.

Matthew Kibble, owner of Matthew Kibble Transport, Colne, said: “Our last bulk order of diesel saw us pay 91p per litre.

"That’s 18p a litre down from the maximum we were paying earlier this year.

“The drop is very welcome. We have had a fuel surcharge which we have passed onto customers to cover the rising cost of fuel.

"If it continues to drop we might be able to get rid of the surcharge all together.”

With 20 wagons in his fleet, the high prices meant he was paying £1,000-a-week to fill one of his lorries, a figure he now hopes will be massively reduced.

But Ken Kay, whose Kay Group owns six petrol stations across the area including the BP Garage at Grimshaw Park, Blackburn, and three in Burnley, said the precedent set by the supermarkets was tough for small operators such as him to follow.

He said: “We feel we have been accused of murder by the likes of the AA and even the Prime Minister because of the prices we have been selling at.

“The problem is we sell refined petrol, not crude oil, and there is a time lag between the price of oil falling and us being able to reduce the price at the pumps.

“The drop has meant sales volumes are coming back to what they were but I have had to drop below £1-a-litre which means I’m taking a hit because you can’t buck the market.”

Mike Damms, chairman of East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, added: “It is important to understand that industry should not take its eye off the climate change issue just because the price of fuel has come down.

"We should not become profligate in our use of fuel .”