Jo Tanner of the Freight Transport Association said: "The mounting costs of running an HGV have made margins even tighter and many companies are already buckling under the pressure.

"The higher the pump price goes the more jobs are under threat and that’s a real concern for an industry that’s already on its knees."

A spokesman for the North East Chamber of Commerce said: "The Government needs to look at what it can do to help companies, petrol prices have a major impact on business in so many ways. It also hits the ordinary driver in the pocket."

Nick Vandervell, (corr) spokesman for the UK Petroleum Industry Association (UKPIA) warned drivers that prices are set to rise still further.

He told The Journal: "The low prices we have seen recently were the result of the global recession reducing demand. But as the economy picks up petrol prices will continue to rise. In May we saw demand from the US increase by around four or five per cent. There is still a major issue with supply as developing countries begin to use more fuel, energy supply will become a lot more competitive."

A spokesman from petrol company BP said: "All prices for BP’s company owned sites are based on local market conditions taking into account such things as the cost of getting the fuel to the particular site, the price of crude oil as well as the actual cost of producing the fuel. This means the prices can vary from site to site. BP does not set the prices for BP branded dealer sites, these are set by the dealers themselves taking into account their costs and needs."