A WIRRAL MP has written today to the head of the Competition and Markets Authority asking them to investigate the price of petrol across Merseyside.

Frank Field said he has been contacted by several Birkenhead drivers expressing their concern about the petrol prices in the town, which, in some garages, has increased by up to ten pence per litre over the past ten days.

Mr Field wrote to the CMA saying: “I understand that most garages operate on a freehold basis and are reasonably free to charge what they wish.

“But my constituents are concerned that Birkenhead’s garages are charging more per litre than those elsewhere in Merseyside.

“Might I please ask whether you would consider looking into this matter, to ensure my constituents aren’t being penalised for buying petrol in Birkenhead?”

His call came as the price of petrol at the pumps nationally has risen above the 110p-a-litre mark, according to the AA.

The average petrol price is now 110.12p a litre, having dipped to 106.39p at the start of February 2015, the AA said.

Diesel, which fell to a low of 113.42p a litre at the beginning of February, now averages 116.85p a litre.

The AA said the hike in pump prices followed a 15-dollar rise in the barrel price of oil between the middle of January and the end of February, with higher petrol and diesel prices likely to come.

It added that Government figures showed that motorists were generally cautious about the low prices in the first few weeks of 2015.

The statistics revealed that petrol consumption in January 2015 slumped to a record low for the month despite the lowest pump prices since October 2009.