Where to get the cheapest petrol and diesel in Northampton, Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough – and are prices going down?

Pump prices across Northamptonshire have fallen to their lowest point since May after hitting record-breaking levels.

But some retailers are under fire for not passing on the full reduction in wholesale costs to motorists.

Independents in Northampton and Kettering rather than supermarkets are now the places to look to save money on unleaded, according to comparison site petrolprices.com.

Nationally, the average price of a litre of unleaded is 164.13p, according to the RAC. A litre of diesel is 180.78 — compared to nearly £2 a litre at its peak earlier this summer, stoked by rising wholesale costs and the price of crude oil soaring in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said recently: “While this is clearly good news, prices should have fallen much further than they have due to the big reduction in the cost of wholesale fuel this summer.

“And the main reason this hasn’t happened is that the big four supermarkets, which dominate UK fuel sales, have refused to pass on savings they are benefitting from buying cheaper wholesale petrol and diesel.

“This means average margins are now 19p a litre – 12p more than the long-term average. Petrol should really be on sale for 153p a litre and diesel 175p.”

The cheapest unleaded prices in Northamptonshire are now more than 10p a litre below the national average but that is still around 25 percent higher than this time last year — and way above where the RAC believes they should be.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng offered no help for motorists in his mini-budget on Friday (September 23), failing to deliver a cut in fuel duty or VAT.

Howard Cox of FairFuelUK, which campaigns for fairer fuel prices, said: "Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng should hang their fiscal heads in shame by not cutting fuel duty.

“Low income familes, small businesses and the economy will continue to be crippled by high pump prices, punitive fuel duty levels and opportunistic profiteering in the fuel supply chain.”

Where are the cheapest places to get fuel in Northamptonshire?

Here are ten of the cheapest petrol and diesel prices across Northampton according to comparison website petrolprices.com on Friday (September 23).

Petrol

1. Shell Kettering Road, (Redhouse Hannington Service Station) — 157.7p per litre2. BP London Road, Southbound (Grange Farm Service Station) — 157.9p3. Texaco Kettering (Chrysler Garage) — 158.9p4. Shell London Road, Northampton — 158.9p5. Morrisons Kettering — 159.7p6. Sainsburys Kettering — 159.9p7. Esso Windmill Avenue (Ridgeclose Kettering Express) — 159.9p8. Shell Barton Road, Barton Seagrave — 159.9p9. Esso Wellingborough Road, (Abington Express) — 159.9p10. Croyland Motors, Rushden — 159.9p

Diesel

1. Morrisons Corby — 169.7p per litre2. Asda, Corby — 171.7p3. Tesco Corby St James — 171.9p4. Tesco Northampton South Extra — 175.9p5. BP Weldon Road, Corby — 175.9p6. Tesco Weston Favell Extra — 176.9p7. Sainsbury’s Weedon Road, Northampton — 176.9p8. BP Bear Way, Desborough — 176.9p9. Jet Corby — 176.9p10. Asda, Kettering— 177.7p■ These prices are those shown on petrolprices.com at the time of publication but are subject to change.