The average price of petrol has now broken through the £5 a gallon mark for the first time, the AA said today.

Petrol now costs £5.01 a gallon, or 110.22p a litre, with the average price of diesel now standing at 120.51p a litre (£5.48 a gallon).

This time last year the average petrol price was 93.98p a litre, with diesel 95.81p.

The AA added that it now costs £8.12 more to fill a typical 50-litre petrol tank than it did a year ago.

Also, a two-car family now pays £34.80 more per month on petrol and the UK is spending £10.8 million extra a day on petrol.

AA president Edmund King said: "The £5 gallon is just the latest milestone along a miserable road of increasing fuel prices this year.

"With the bank holiday and summer motoring looming, many drivers that get by on a tank of fuel for a couple of weeks will suffer a reality check when they drive down to the seaside or an amusement park and have to fill up along the way.''