The price of petrol has hit £5 a gallon at a motorway service station for the first time, it as been reported.
It is understood that a service station on the M40 reached the milestone after selling petrol at 110.9p for a litre of unleaded, over the 110p threshold for a £5 gallon.
Although fuel has reached £5 before in smaller petrol stations this is the first time drivers have no choice but to pay, as it is at a motorway services.
Motorists will have to wait until later today to see if Chancellor Alistair Darling chooses to increase the price of petrol further through higher taxes.
It is estimated that petrol is 17p a litre more expensive than a year ago and now costs an extra £8.59 to fill up an average 50-litre fuel tank.
The AA claims motorists are paying £18.41 a month more for petrol than the same period in 2007.