WHEN I heard that the government had chosen April 1 as the date for an increase in petrol duty, I honestly thought it was an April Fool joke – admittedly, not a very funny one, but at least a spoof. How wrong I was.

An increase in duty of 1.84p per litre plus VAT boosted the extra tax to 2.12p a litre. What a wonderful time to add a further burden on the taxpayer, just a few days after I received my latest council tax bill.

For most motorists, this will add £1 to the cost of filling a vehicle with petrol.

But at least the government can grab back a bit of money to help recoup their banking support – the petrol duty hike will bring in £1.4 million extra tax a day from unleaded petrol sales alone.

Haulage companies are already under threat because of the rising tax on diesel, which is already the highest in Europe.

Comparison site PetrolPrices.com said UK pump prices could rise by 5p a litre from today’s level because of the fuel duty hike and higher wholesale oil costs.

But the best quote came from the Treasury, which calmly stated that the increase was announced nearly two years ago before the recession and that it was beneficial as: “We have always made clear that fuel duty and vehicle excise duty encourage the use of more fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly vehicles, as well as raising revenue for essential public services.”

But, we have no need to worry as the PM has persuaded 20 world leaders to inject $1 trillion into the world’s economy.

Please excuse me if I continue to worry.

MARTIN PRENTICE, Kings Acre Road, Hereford.