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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
James Holt

Drivers wait in half hour queues for fuel at Costco in Manchester as prices continue to soar

Drivers waited in half hour queues for fuel at Costco on Thursday evening (July 7) as the price of both petrol and diesel continues to soar. A huge line of cars trailed from the forecourts at the Trafford site, winding along Central Avenue to the roundabout near the Asda supermarket.

It comes as the wholesalers was named as one of the cheapest places to go for fuel in Manchester, as prices continue to skyrocket across the country. June saw a new record monthly rise in petrol prices in the UK, according to RAC analysis.

At around 7pm on Thursday, dozens of drivers were forced to wait in line for as long as 30 minutes in a bid to fill up. As of the time of writing, unleaded costs 179.9p per litre, premium unleaded is 190.9p per litre and premium diesel is 191.7 at the Costco site beside Trafford Park.

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Radio presenter George Icke was among those stuck in the winding queues. He said: "I have been a member of Costco for a while, but I think the numbers of members must have shot up as the cost of living and fuel keeps getting worse.

"It is the nearest petrol station to me that isn't extortionate, but it is still really expensive. I got stuck in the queue at the roundabout beside the entrance to the petrol station, and we were sat there for ages.

"It was slowly moving forwards and took us till nearly half past to fill up and get away. For some people fuel costs are a real worry, and adding into that half an hour queues on a Thursday night, it will use even more petrol."

Data shows that the average cost of a litre of fuel in the UK rose by 16.6p last month - a rise from 174.8p to 191.4p. It's the highest recorded monthly increase since 2000.

It means that the average cost of filling a typical 55-litre family petrol car has risen by more than £9. Meanwhile, average diesel prices rose by 15.6p per litre, landing at 199.1p at the end of the month.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “The rate at which pump prices have been rising over the last four weeks is hard to comprehend. Not a day in June went by when petrol prices didn’t go up, even though the price retailers pay to buy in fuel went down.

“There’s no doubt that drivers are getting an incredibly raw deal at the pumps at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is being felt ever more acutely.”

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