MORRISONS says it will look to 'reduce differences' in the cost of fuel prices at the pumps in the Skipton area while Tesco has said it has 'slashed' prices to help struggling families.

The supermarkets have come in for a lot of criticism in the last few weeks by residents who have taken to social media calling on them to reduce their prices in line with falling wholesale prices since the record highs of early July.

Prices at the Skipton supermarkets have been compared unfavourably with petrol stations in Ilkley, Ripon, Settle and Colne, with critics accusing the companies of 'ripping off customers' and treating rural communities unfairly.

And, even after Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, cut its prices earlier this week, it was criticised as not being enough.

Today, Wednesday, Morrisons, Broughton Road, was selling unleaded fuel for 189.4 per litre, and 'city diesel' at 195.4 per litre. Just around the corner, Tesco's petrol station in Keighley Road, was selling unleaded petrol at 181.9 per litre, and diesel at 191.9.

A Morrisons spokesperson said: "In the UK petrol prices vary from town to town and even neighbourhood to neighbourhood and we will always strive to be competitive in each local area. Occasionally this can mean price differences between different areas open up.

"We continually review our prices and will look to reduce this difference as soon as we can."

Tesco said it reduced the cost at its petrol stations on Monday, with the price of unleaded set to fall by an average of 6.5p, and the price of diesel by an average of 4.5p.

Ashwin Prasad, its chief product officer, said:"We know how tough rising fuel bills have been for households across the UK, and so we hope that these price cuts will go some way to help - particularly as more families head out on their summer holidays this week."

Tesco adds it regularly monitors fuel prices throughout a local area to ensure its providing competitive prices for its customers.

According to motoring organisation the RAC, which monitors petrol and diesel prices across the country, the latest average price per litre for unleaded is 180.70 per litre, and 190.75 for diesel.

It says the price of petrol fell in July by nearly 9p, but while these are the third and fourth biggest monthly reductions respectively in the last 20 years, the RAC says they still don’t fairly reflect the fall in the wholesale price of fuel, meaning major retailers should be cutting pump prices much further.