ONE Herefordshire man takes a cynical view that one county supermarket is hiking up petrol prices due to the rural nature of the area.

Ian Shanks, who lives at Upperhill, near Ivington, has noticed a significant difference in prices between Morrisons’ petrol filling station in Leominster and others operated by Morrisons near Birmingham and in South Wales.

“I travel quite a bit,” said Mr Shanks, “and I have little doubt that Morrisons in Leominster is one of the most expensive for fuel.” He expressed surprise that Morrisons did not have a standard charge for fuel throughout the nationwide chain.

On the same day, he noticed prices in Wednesbury were shown to be 10p per litre cheaper than in Leominster. In Gloucester and in Cwmbran he also spotted prices per litre at £1.14p, while in Leominster the price stood at £1.22p.

“That means at least £5 more to fill up a tank which is a significant amount in a rural community like ours,” said Mr Shanks. He has queried the discrepancy with supermarket management and said he was told that prices were inevitably higher in this area as fuel tankers had to “travel quite a bit” to get here with deliveries.

“We live in a rural community and one thing we need more than anything is petrol for transport, and they know we have to buy it,” he said. Mr Shanks believed that Morrisons had a “social responsibility” in a rural area.

“Businesses have a right to make a profit, but not by exploiting the local community.”

A spokeswoman for Morrisons said that the company’s aim was to provide the best price locally in each town.