Wolverhampton's cheapest petrol station bucking the fuel price trend to keep locals going
An independent petrol station has cut the price of fuel, declaring it "the right thing to do".
The move comes amid fuel protests that brought motorways to a standstill and claims supermarkets have abandoned their policy of discounting prices.
Blakenhall Services on Dudley Road, Wolverhampton, is currently charging 179.6p per litre for unleaded and 191.6p for diesel.
That compares to nearby Morrisons supermarket, which is charging 189.7p for unleaded and 197.7p for diesel.
Data firm Experian says the average price per litre for petrol at West Midland forecourts has reached a new high of 191.4p, more than 10p higher than Blakenhall Services.
Sanjeev Lal, operations manager, said the Total Energies station is a "customer centric" business, and wants to help those in their community during the tough times. He has seen queues build as news gets around about his prices.
He said: "We have done a lot here for the community, and we decided with the rise in cost of living, we would try and run at cost, sometimes even at a loss, so our community can get to A and B.
"People don't understand, it's not just the fuel price, it’s the electricity along with it and the staffing.
"We have been the lowest prices around Wolverhampton for months now.
"Normally our customers are local, but people are coming from all over now, we are getting a great response. We want to continue this as long as we can and we want the community to know they have somewhere to go to."
Mr Lal described the ability to offer lower prices as a "true team effort", with staff members at the station all agreeing to decrease their wages.
Locally, Morrisons in Willenhall is charging 189.7p for unleaded and 197.7p for diesel.
Sanjeev added: "Whatever we pay for the fuel, and the running cost, that is what we are selling for.
"We mentioned it to all the staff on site, and they all contributed towards paying out of their wages, which is a big thing.
"With us being a Punjabi based business, we believe in giving, all of us. What we believe is, if we can do it, I am pretty sure others could do it too."
The high fuel prices have led some drivers to organise protests across the country, including two in the West Midlands which are set to bring motorway traffic to a crawl.
On Monday, around 200 drivers in vans, trucks and cars are expected to gather and form a convoy at Junction 4 of the M54 in Telford, while more protesters are due to take to the M6 at Junction 3 for Coventry and Nuneaton.
The protests are understood to be organised via social media under the banner Fuel Price Stand Against Tax.
Howard Cox, founder of campaign group FairFuelUK called for a cut of at least 20p, and warned that protests will continue if not, although his group is not involved in Monday's action.
He said: “There is an appetite (for such protest). If the Government don’t actually deliver on this, I think there’s going to be some serious escalation of protests.”
Nationally, retailers have reported a surge in verbal abuse towards forecourt staff by drivers angry at pump prices.
On Tuesday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs he will carefully consider calls for a "more substantial" fuel duty cut after the 5p per litre reduction implemented in March failed to halt price rises.
