FURIOUS motorists accused garage owners of profiteering today after petrol stations increased their prices as demand for the last few drops of fuel soars.

Some have reported price hikes as high as seven pence per litre overnight as more and more service stations run out throughout the town.

One petrol station in Manchester Road, Kearsley, was charging 79.9 pence for unleaded petrol on Saturday night.

But as more and more car drivers turned up to fill-up on Sunday, the price rocketed to 86 pence per litre.

That was also mirrored at the Save service station in Wearish Lane, where bosses placed more than seven pence on the price of a litre.

The Scot Lane Service Station in Blackrod had completely run out of unleaded petrol, which it had been selling for 87p per litre, by Monday afternoon and expected to be out of diesel, which was on sale for 86.9p per litre, by last night.

Merlin Service Station in Westhoughton only had four-star petrol left by yesterday afternoon which it was selling for 87.9p per litre.

The garage had limited its sale to account customers and only £10 worth of petrol to anyone else quick enough to get there in time before the entire supply ran out.

And other increases like this throughout the town have prompted motorists to slam garage owners as greedy.

One driver, Mr Roy Sulway, from Manchester Road, Kearsley, said: "It is wrong that garage owners should try and make even more profit out of a crisis. They know people are going to but petrol while there is still some left, so they bump up prices as much as they can. It is simply not fair to motorists. "Mr Robert Dawson, who spotted a similar price hike at Save in Westhoughton added: "Increasing prices according to demand is pure exploitation of drivers. The blockades have the aim of reducing prices and increasing them even more.

"The garage owners should be stopped profiteering like this, because I am sure they are doing it just to make a killing. I am quite sure the refineries have not upped their prices to such an extent overnight."

Heather Louro, a spokesman for Save petrol stations, said they had been forced to put prices up overnight because cost price had risen.

She added: "Putting our prices up means we can keep sites open for longer, but it still looks as if we will be running out over the next couple of days. We made the decision as a company to put prices up to keep services running, where currently those who have not put prices up are selling at a loss."