00:00Rising costs at the pump are fuelling anxiety for drivers across the county as prices refuse
00:06to come down.
00:07It's a mix of global tensions and rising taxes which continues to push up what people
00:12pay, but it's the everyday impact that's hitting Kent residents the hardest.
00:16All motorists would have felt the sting from the rising costs of fuel over the past couple
00:20of weeks, but how are residents in Kent actually dealing with this added financial burden?
00:26Businesses that rely on petrol and diesel, such as driving instructors and farmers, are
00:31being hit hard by these rising prices.
00:34It is impacting the business, of course it is, because it's not just the fuel that's
00:38gone up.
00:39I mean, for example, this is a leased car, and the lease of this has gone up £100 a month
00:46from the last lease.
00:47So you've got the insurance, you've got the fuel, you've got the car expenses.
00:51That means that driving less than prices have to go up.
00:54Before the Trump war started, we were paying in the region of 70 to 76 pence per litre for
01:01red diesel, which meant my running costs per tractor per day were approximately £140
01:07just on fuel.
01:09We're now paying, as of the Trump war, in the region between £125 and £145 per litre,
01:16so we're nearly doubled, so we've gone from £140 a day to nearly £300 a day.
01:21Some people I spoke to who did not feel comfortable stepping in front of the camera say they've
01:26been cutting back on journeys and reworking their budgets, as the pressure shows little
01:30sign of easing.
01:31Everything's going up, the phone's going up, the gas is going up, the electric's going,
01:36you know, it's never-ending, isn't it?
01:37Yeah, I think everybody, even the government are powerless. There's nothing they can do,
01:42it's an international situation. We all pay the same price around the world for fuel.
01:46But our country seems to spend its time saving the rest of the world. But who saves us?
01:52So we're fueling another country for war.
01:54While petrol and diesel prices did fall slightly at the end of last week, the decline has been
01:59very small, with diesel down by 6p and petrol by 3p.
02:04So with no sign of costs easing any time soon, some Kent motorists will be forced to take a
02:09different route, both on the road and with their budgets. Maisie Walker for KMTV, Maitstone.
Comments