Fuel prices in Britain are now the highest in Europe, writes Zahra Akkerhuys.

Tony Blair is facing one of the bitterest public backlashes since he came to power. Writing in the national press yesterday, he gave voters a stark choice - if petrol prices come down, it'll be at the expense of public services like health and education.

Many small businesses and infuriated motorists across the country are finding the escalating prices crippling - research shows that the cost of a litre of unleaded petrol has gone up by 44 per cent in the past three years and more than 75 per cent of the increase was due to heavier taxes with only a fraction due to rising oil prices. Andy Adams, owner of the Carterton-based removal firm Deltamove, says fuel is the most expensive cost his firm has to meet each month, above labour and vehicle maintenance.

He runs five vehicles, including three large removal vans and two smaller transit vans, and this month paid 1,278 to cover his fuel bills, whereas this time last year his fuel bills were closer to the 1,000 mark, he claims.

He has given his backing to the campaign to drive down the cost of fuel and has put protest stickers in all his vehicles to highlight his disgust at the soaring prices. He says it is inevitable that the high cost of fuel ends up being passed on to the customer because otherwise he, and many small removal firm owners like him, could face going out of business.

He says: "Firms like mine don't have a lot of choice. We are only a small company and need to keep our vans on the road.

"The price of fuel seems to go up and up. It's ridiculous but we have to keep paying the high prices because otherwise we wouldn't be able to run the business.

"You notice the high price every time you go to the pump."

Mr Adams is a member of several organisations which are putting pressure on the Government to bring fuel prices down such as the Road Hauliers Association and the Association of Removers.

He believes it is only by pressurising the Government consistently on a national level that things will change. The Oxfordshire branch of the motoring organisation the AA has also hit out at the soaring costs.

AA spokeswoman for Oxfordshire Rebecca Rees says: "Drivers simply do not have any choice but to comply and pay up. It's a vicious circle because many people do not have a viable alternative.

"People cannot give up their cars because public transport in many areas would not provide an adequate substitute."

Many motorists are venting their outrage about the price of fuel by pledging support to a nationwide boycott campaign. Bracknell-based organiser Chris Longhurst has launched the 'Boycott the Pumps' campaign and is asking people not to fill up their petrol tanks on August 1 and then every subsequent Monday to show their anger at the situation.

Co-ordinators agree that motorists cannot boycott the pumps indefinitely, but they believe that by concentrating on specific days they can maximise the impact of their campaign.

Motoring organisations fear the plan may backfire as many people could simply fill up their tanks on the days before and after boycott day, causing huge tailbacks on roads nearby petrol stations.

Many motorists say the high prices might not be so hard to swallow if the extra revenue raised was ploughed into improved public transport creating a long-term alternative for road-users. But the perception is that public transport has seen little improvement or investment and government subsidies to get more buses on the roads and trains on the tracks appear to be dwindling rather than expanding. Many services, particularly those that serve rural areas, have been cut recently because of a lack of funding, such as the evening service from Appleton to Oxford's city centre.

The motorist is in a no-win situation but the Government can only go so far.

If prices continue to rise, will voters exact their revenge on Tony Blair at the next election?