Hard-up drivers running out of fuel

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Many motorists are "driving on empty" with 20% saying they can no longer afford to fill their tank right up, a survey by breakdown company Britannia Rescue found.

In the last three months, 340,000 drivers have suffered a breakdown due to running out of fuel - 10% more than the same period last year.

Single parents and young professionals are the ones most likely to avoid completely filling up at the pumps, while in the last three months 59% of drivers have allowed their fuel level to fall so low the warning light has come on.

Around a quarter of the 1,467 drivers polled said they drove their car on hardly any fuel at least once a month and 8% admitted driving close to empty all the time.

Few drivers appeared to have any idea how much fuel it took to run their car, with only 4% correctly estimating that the average car could drive 100-110 miles on £10 worth of fuel.

Also, 21% said they no longer used the car's air conditioning in an effort to save fuel and 38% were driving more slowly.

The survey also revealed that during the recent Shell strike many motorists panic-bought, with only 11% buying fuel when necessary.

Britannia Rescue spokeswoman Emma Holyer said: "Increases in fuel prices are hitting drivers hard, especially against a background of rising food and housing costs. But while it is now more costly to fill up at the pumps, running a car on empty can damage a car's fuel pump - requiring repairs that will make a full tank of £50 petrol seem like a bargain.

"Drivers who run their car on empty are also at high risk of breaking down. Not only is this extremely costly if you don't have breakdown cover and also very inconvenient, running out of fuel on the roads that don't have a hard shoulder can create major safety hazards for other drivers."