OXFORD City Council overspent on fuel because of soaring prices over the last financial year, it has emerged.

Council documents show that it spent £86,000 more than it had budgeted for in 2017/18.

At the start of the 2017/18 financial year, from when the figures were taken, average petrol prices were 117p a litre and average diesel prices were 120p.

The financial year ended with the average petrol price 119.2p and diesel 122.9p – increases which had impacts on the council’s budget.

Fuel it hit a high in February that year – with petrol 121.6p per little and diesel 125p per litre.

Last September 2017, the Oxford Mail reported prices had risen by an average of eight per cent from just 12 months before across Oxfordshire.

The city council owned 322 vehicles last year.

Of those, 17 were electric and 22 were hybrid. The rest were powered by either petrol or diesel. It said last September that its policy was ‘always to look to purchase an electric vehicle’ if possible.

Petrol prices have continued to soar after the end of the 2017/18 financial year – with average prices hitting 128.4p a litre last month.

Average diesel prices also rose by 6p from May to June to 132.3p a litre.

Supermarkets agreed to cut prices on fuel as part of a measure welcomed by industry experts late last month.

Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s reduced the price of unleaded fuel by up to 2p a litre and diesel by up to 1p.

At the time, RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “It’s great to see supermarkets passing on savings in the wholesale cost of fuel to motorists who have endured rising prices at the pumps since the end of March.

“A litre of petrol is now 13p more expensive than a year ago while diesel is 15p dearer so every penny that comes off the forecourt price is very welcome.”

The lowest petrol prices in the last 10 years were recorded by the RAC Foundation in January 2009.

The average price for a litre of petrol across the country was 86p; diesel was priced at 98.3p.

The figures were recorded in the results for the city council’s trading company Oxford Direct Services, which will be discussed at a city council meeting on Wednesday.

It showed that it ended the year £813,000 ahead of what it had budgeted.

Despite the money it shelled out on fuel, it made £125,000 more in its commercial waste department than it had expected and another £439,000 on engineering services.

It also achieved an additional £110,000 – which it said offset money it hadn’t been able to raise from anticipated expansion at Seacourt Park and Ride.

As part of the expansion, it is expected the £3.4m development will see an extra 668 spaces built on the green belt and flood plain next to the West Oxford park and ride.

But it is still fiercely opposed by environmental campaigners who took an ultimately unsuccessful battle to the Government.

The city council has said the park-and-ride expansion is badly needed and that it is frequently over capacity. It has been put under considerable strain by the reopening of Westgate.

City council documents state: “Fuel prices have been increasing throughout the year and have led to an overspend of £0.086 million in this area. There has been over achievement of income in commercial waste (£0.125) million and engineering services (£0.439) million.”