PETROL went up by more than 30p a litre in the past 12 months.

A litre cost motorists an average 143.7p yesterday, breaking the 142.17p record set in April 2012.

Petrol prices have soared by more than 30p per litre in the past 12 months

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Petrol prices have soared by more than 30p per litre in the past 12 monthsCredit: Alamy

It compares with 113.11p a year ago and means it now costs about £17 more to fill up a ­typical family car, government figures show.

A litre of diesel was 147.48p, up more than 29p on last year.

Drivers were first alerted to petrol being at record levels last week, when separate figures from data firm Experian Catalist showed petrol was being sold at an average of 142.94p per litre.

The increase in fuel prices has been driven by the cost of oil doubling in the past year.

How to keep petrol costs down

There are cost-cutting steps you can take, such as car-pooling and sharing lifts.

There are also simple things you can do to make a tank of fuel last longer, such as making sure your tyres are at the right pressure.

While you don’t want to drive for miles to get fuel, if you have a choice of petrol station in your area, it pays to shop around.

The website petrolprices.com allows you to do 20 free searches on petrol stations near you to see who has the best rates.

When you need to fill up, you might as well get the best price possible. We found differences of around 2p per litre in our search.

Petrol prices hit record high of 143p per litre while diesel prices continue to rise – how to keep fuel costs down

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk

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