FUEL management company Arval PHH has called on the Government to reduce the level of duty on fuel to help British fleets.

A survey carried out by the company reveals the price of diesel and unleaded petrol across the UK has been rising for the past six weeks.

For the week ending December 13, the weekly average price of unleaded fuel in the UK was 74.12 pence per litre and the average price of diesel was 75.46 pence per litre. For the week ending January 24, the prices had risen to 75.63 pence per litre and 76.90 pence per litre.

Danny Clenaghan, Arval PHH managing director of fuel and business mobility, said: 'As long as there is a threat of military action in the Gulf, oil prices are likely to remain high. That means there is no prospect of forecourt prices coming down, and as time goes on they could well continue rising. An increase of a penny a litre may not sound like much, but for companies with large vehicle fleets that can mean higher costs running into the thousands of pounds every month. Even smaller businesses will feel the pinch.

'We call upon the Govern-ment to help those businesses that pour so much money into Treasury coffers. Fuel duties and taxes in the UK are still among the highest in Europe.'