Soaring oil costs have pushed the UK’s average price of petrol above 132ppl – £6 a gallon – for the first time ever.

Figures from Experian Catalist put yesterday’s average price of unleaded at 132.30ppl and diesel at 138.20ppl. And the cost of petrol has risen 7.11ppl a litre since the start of the year.

The AA said £6 a gallon is not just another milestone along the road to higher fuel prices, it marks the point at which “the wheels start to come off mobility in 21st century UK”.

Edmund King, the AA’s president, said: “Lower-income drivers, poorer rural residents, volunteer drivers and youngsters looking to their first jobs are some of the vulnerable groups struggling to stay on the road.”