Parking fees and rising fuel prices mean car insurance customers in the UK are set to spend around £8 million driving to the shops and £70 million parking their cars this Christmas.

That's according to research by price comparison experts at uSwitch, who point out that petrol prices have gone up by 15 per cent since last November.

Although there is continuing pressure on oil companies to lower their prices, UK car insurance customers have gone from paying 95p for a litre of petrol to 109p per litre over the last 12 months. Meanwhile, the AA warns that the end of the VAT cut will add an estimated 2.4p per litre to pump prices from January.

"Christmas shoppers heading onto the high streets are being stung not once but twice, with high prices at the pump and astronomical car park fees," confirms Ann Robinson, uSwitch consumer policy director. "Consumers are fighting an ongoing battle to make their money go further."

Robinson notes that the average festive shopping trip costs £9 in parking fees, with London drivers hit hardest by an average of £18 for up to four hours' parking. Car insurance customers in Bradford are better off, paying just £3.50.

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