RURAL motorists are under threat of losing their garages unless the Government provides more support, a Ryedale garage manager has warned.

Richard Thrower, commission operator at Coastways Garage, on the A64 between Malton and York at Claxton, says unless more is done, independent rural garages will gradually disappear.

The garage has set up a petition which will used as part of a national campaign run by Rural Garage Watch to influence the Government to lower fuel tax.

"There are a lot of pressures on rural operators at the moment," he said.

"Fuel duty means petrol prices are high - though not as high as they were last year around the time of the fuel protests.

"Increasingly we are facing competition from the larger chains of garages and especially from supermarkets which are undercutting us on price."

Mr Thrower, who has run the garage for Bayford Thrust, based at Wetherby, for four years, has started a petition which will be added to a national campaign.

"We have been asking motorists to sign our petition and on the whole they have been very supportive," he said.

"The most recent victim has been the Rix Garage at Hazelbush, just along from my garage which closed just a few weeks ago.

"This now means mine is the only garage on the A64 between Scarborough and Tadcaster."

Rod Staines, from Bayford Thrust, who is helping to co-ordinate the campaign in Ryedale and North Yorkshire, said competition was unfair.

"This arises mainly from the fact that fuel duty is so high," he said.

"Rural Garage Watch has been set up to represent independent garages which are struggling to compete against the bigger boys.

"Under current tax laws, if a litre of petrol costs 80 pence at least 83 per cent of that price will be tax. The actual cost of the petrol will be about 15 pence a litre.

"The petition is running in other garages across Yorkshire and these will all be collected and along with others from across the UK will be presented to the Government on a day of action in London on July 8.

"Independent rural garages are finding themselves in the position that they are just getting by.

"They can't sell their garages because they are not profitable enough so the only way out without losing all their money is to cease operating."

Updated: 10:38 Saturday, June 23, 2001