A haulage business owner has issued a desperate demand to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, as he fears the astronomical surge in fuel costs will shut down his business.
Speaking to GB News, Stephen Bennett, manager of Bennetts Haulage, urged Ms Reeves to "step in" and help "curb fuel prices" as he is having to pass on the cost to his customers.
Speaking to GB News National Reporter Will Godley at his haulage site in Reading, Mr Bennett admitted he has seen an increase in fuel costs of "48 per cent" for his fleet since the start of the Middle East conflict.
He said: "It has had an enormous impact. From the start of the year, my costs are up 48 per cent. So before tax, I was paying 109, and it's now closer to 168.
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"Week on week we're having about £4,000 a week more that we're spending on diesel compared to the start of the year, which again spread out throughout the entire year, it's going to be about £210,000 a year more that diesel will cost us, just to continue exactly the same as we were the year prior."
Questioned by Will on how he is managing such a huge spike in costs, Mr Bennett said for the first time in the company's history, they have had no choice but to "pass on the cost" to their customers.
He explained: "So for the first time in the history of our business, we've now passed on a fuel surcharge to our customers. As of this week, it is 9.5 per cent.
"And the way we've worked it out is the additional cost on the business is split 50-50 down the middle. So we take half of the burden and the customers take half of the burden."
Haulage business owner Stephen Bennett has issued a desperate plea to Rachel Reeves has he faces an extra £4,000 a week in fuel costs
|GB NEWS
Issuing a plea to the Government, Mr Bennett stressed that the rising costs are "not sustainable" for their family-run business long term.
He told GB News: "I've really got to hope that the Government steps in and does something to curb these prices before the end of the year, because a lot of hauliers like us are doing the same, spreading the cost between themselves and their customer base.
"And a lot of hauliers don't have a large enough cash reserve to do it for a year or two."
Mr Bennett called on Ms Reeves to not only reverse the planned cut to fuel duty, but to double the cut for Britons.
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Rachel Reeves has been urged to halt her planned fuel duty increase in September
|PA
He said: "Come September, the fuel duty cut is no longer in place, and to be honest with you, I'd like to see more than a 5p cut.
"A 10p cut would make a much larger impact on the haulage industry as a whole, and to consumers."
Warning of a wider impact of the fuel crisis on Britons, Mr Bennett cautioned that people will no longer "want to pay the price on supermarket shelves" the more that companies impose their rising costs on customers.
He said: "With the type of work I do, it's not going to be viable long term, because it's general construction, but the big thing that's going to get hit the most is supermarkets and supermarket deliveries.
Mr Bennett told GB News that Britons will soon 'not want to pay the price' on supermarket shelves
|GB NEWS
"Because all the costs have to get passed on from the delivery onto the final goods, and then on to the people who buy it. And it will become a point where people aren't prepared to pay the price on the supermarket shelves."
The latest prices from RAC Fuel Watch show that motorists are now paying an average of 179.9p for a litre of diesel, while petrol car owners are seeing costs of around 151.4p.
The surging fuel costs are at the highest level since at least 2003, as the conflict in the Middle East rages on.
Sir Keir Starmer has maintained that the Labour Government will continue to monitor the fuel situation across the UK to ensure motorists are protected from profiteering.