Motorists are already having to contend with empty pumps brought on by panic-buying amid fears of fuel shortages due to a lack of delivery drivers.

However, they are also paying sky-high prices for their fuel because of a spike in the oil price.

Both fuels are now at prices last seen eight years ago and are closing in on the record highs of 2012.

Unleaded went up 1.5p to 136.83p in September, making it 22p a litre more expensive than a year ago, according to the RAC.

Diesel rose by 2.5p to 139.25p, 21p dearer than September 2020.

The rise at the pumps has been driven by a 10.65 per cent increase in the price of oil from $71.29 to $78.88 throughout September.

RAC fuel spokesman, Simon Williams, said: “As life moves ever closer to normal as the world gets to grips with Covid-19, demand for oil is outpacing supply, and with producer group OPEC+ deciding on Monday not to release more oil, the barrel price has now broken through the $80-mark for the first time in more than three years.

“This looks likely to spell further misery for drivers at the pumps as we head towards Christmas, especially as some analysts are predicting the price could even hit $90 before the end of the year.

“If this were to happen, we could see the average price of unleaded hit a new record of around 143p per litre. Diesel would shoot up to 145p which is only 3p off the record high of 147.93 in April 2021.”

Motorists flocked to forecourts last weekend over fears petrol stations could run out of fuel or close completely.

While the situation has eased slightly, supplies are still not back to normal.

At the peak of the crisis, the RAC said its patrols dealt with 13 times as many out-of-fuel breakdowns as normal.

This has now subsided to just twice as many, the motoring group said.