CARS queued in the road for fuel at one of Birmingham’s cheapest filling stations as petrol prices continue to rise – and retailers warn drivers could face a £70 bill to fill up an average family saloon by Easter.

Shell, in Kings Heath, is one of eight stations in the city offering unleaded at 123.9p per litre – the cheapest price in the city at the moment.

Since December petrol and diesel prices have gone up by about 5p because of the VAT increase to 20 per cent and the Government’s fuel duty rise of 0.76p a litre.

And Brendan McLoughlin, managing director of price comparison website petrolprices.com is among those who have predicted further rises in the next couple of weeks with an increase in the price of oil.

It has been estimated that a record high will come in from April 1 as petrol and diesel prices shoot up by 8p a litre.

Experts say this will push the cost of unleaded petrol up to £1.36 a litre and diesel to £1.40 a litre – pushing the cost of filling a saloon with a 50-litre tank to about £70.

Prime Minister David Cameron has been urged to look again at the introduction of a fuel stabiliser to peg fuel duty to the price of oil.