Meet the family fearing the cost of getting to hospital as petrol prices rise

Video report by ITV correspondent Rob Smith

Sarah Wilson says she works hard and lives "within her means" but the latter is getting harder thanks to the cost of petrol.

The cafe worker from Partington is among many people across the North West trying to figure out how to meet rising bills, including fuel for their cars.

Her wife, Jackie, has regular appointments at Manchester's Christie Hospital and the couple drive to them.

"That comes with a massive amount of appointments," says Sarah, "and my wage doesn't reflect how much it's going up by to keep a car running."

She says she worries that the time is coming when the maths of keeping their vital car on the road does not work anymore.

Mohammed Padel and Rafiq Bux know how tricky that maths has become.

The taxi drivers from Preston are spending up to £50 more on fuel each week, yet are struggling to find extra customers to cover it.

Rafiq says he and other drivers cannot bear to see how fast the numbers spin round on the forecourt pumps.

"We don't look at them," he says. "We use credit cards to fill up and then just turn over."

Motoring experts say there are ways to cut your fuel bill by driving slower, keeping your distance from the vehicle in front and using the brake and accelerator more gently.

A leading driving examiner and instructor, from Barnston, says a combination of methods can save up to 40 per cent on petrol and diesel costs.

Iain Fawcett says only filling your tank half way, clearing the boot and turning off air conditioning all help as extra weight and extra power-use burn more fuel.

Yet what he calls "forward planning" can deliver the biggest savings because it "takes more energy to put a heavy object in motion than to keep it in motion."

"Look far ahead so you're not having to start and stop all the time," he says. "If you're coming into a situation and you're having to brake hard, you then have to build that speed back up. You're going to use most of your fuel accelerating."

Another option to save is to ditch the car for certain journeys. Bicycle engineer Joel Jones, from Hoylake, says his repair business has seen a surge in customers wanting to refurbish old bikes.

"A lot of people are pulling old bikes out of the shed," he says, "that haven't been repaired in a long time because they need that option."

Joel adds that some of the people he has spoken to would rather zip past traffic on a bicycle now, than sit in traffic burning fuel.

A Government cut to fuel duty, announced this week, is designed to soften the blow of rising pump prices and help struggling motorists.

The 5p per litre cut will stay in place until next March. The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, says it's "the biggest cut to all fuel duty rates ever", which he claims will save motorists £5 billion.