Diesel hit a six-year low in November and petrol fell below £1 per litre, as the price of barrel of oil tumbled to $40.40 – its lowest price since February 2009.

The average price of petrol reduced for the fifth month in a row, while diesel fell to its lowest average price since late December, 2009, when it reached 109.48p a litre on November, having started the month at 109.77p.

This means since this time last year the cost of filling up a 55-litre family car with petrol has plunged by £7.75 and a tank of diesel has come down even more, with a fill-up now £8.95 cheaper than a year ago.