BUSINESSES say £1 a litre petrol has given them respite from economic gloom – but believe the price at the pump is still too high.

Unleaded petrol at stations in North Staffordshire dipped below the £1 mark yesterday for the first time this year after months of motoring misery.

But drivers and fuel-reliant businesses say they are still paying too much for fuel because the cost of crude oil has almost halved from a high of $147 (£84) a barrel to a 14-month low around $75 (£43).

Talke-based haulier Barry Proctor Services has seen thousands of pounds wiped off its £90,000 monthly diesel bill in the past week.

Managing director Barry Proctor said: "Supermarkets made a big play about getting it down to £1 a litre but it should be a lot less.

"It will help drive the likes of Shell, Esso and BP down but the price of fuel is still too high. And the difference between petrol and diesel is far too much, which is hitting hauliers hard, and there is really no reason for it."

The fall in prices began when supermarket Asda, which had been charging 104.9p a litre for unleaded petrol, dropped it to 99.9p on Wednesday.

It also reduced the cost of diesel from 116.9p a litre to 110.9p.

Fellow supermarket Morrisons followed suit and there were early signs that giant petrol firms would match the price, including BP, which reduced unleaded to 99.9p a litre in Newcastle Road, Stone.

This is the first time since last autumn that petrol has been less than £1 in the UK, with unleaded going over 120p a litre and diesel over 130p during the worst of this year's price rises.

Mr Proctor said the average price of diesel in February this year was £1.03, when the price of crude was $92.21 (£52.87).

And he believes fuel prices should still fall by more than 20p to be in line with that ratio.

He said: "It seems when the oil prices are going up, they put their prices up straight away.

"If oil jumped from $75 to $140 a barrel tomorrow, the prices would go up instantly."

The Sentinel has previously reported that motorists in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire saw their monthly spend on fuel rise by about £8.2 million when prices soared in July.

The rise also hit businesses, including taxi firm ABC, based in Furlong Lane, Burslem, which saw a reduction in business over the summer.

Director Paul Wilkes said the company had to put fares up because of cost pressures.

He said: "I am really happy to see fuel prices coming down, but I still think they could come down more.

"If you go back three or four years, there has still been a hell of a jump.

"Hopefully if it continues to come down, we can hold our prices because we want to be able to build up our customer base."

Paul Biggs, Staffordshire co-ordinator for the Association of British Drivers, agreed more financial pressure needed to be taken off motorists.

He said: "It is great news to finally see the prices come down again.

"The cost of oil has almost halved, so you would expect to see that at the pumps.

"It seems like the prices went up very quickly as the price of oil rose, but they are not so fast to put the prices down.

"I still think we are paying far too much for fuel. Sixty per cent goes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and that is too much."