THE £1 litre of petrol has almost arrived in North Yorkshire - sparking an angry attack on "disgraceful" fuel duties by Tory leader William Hague.

The Sutton Bank garage at Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, on the A170 near Thirsk, is selling lead replacement petrol, (formerly four star) at a staggering 99.9 pence a litre.

That is 14 pence a litre more than only 12 months ago, and works out at £4.54 a gallon.

Even unleaded petrol has long since raced past the £4 per gallon mark, retailing at 96.9 pence a litre.

When the Evening Press told Tory leader and Richmond MP William Hague the price that petrol had reached in his own backyard, he branded it "disgraceful".

But he wasn't complaining at the garage's pricing policy but the levels of fuel duties imposed by the Government at each Budget.

"We wouldn't have put it up to this level had we remained in power," he claimed.

"They should stop the automatic increase in the price of petrol every year." But he stopped short of backing demands in the media for an immediate cut in fuel duties by the Chancellor.

York's Labour MP and Government Minister Hugh Bayley hit back at Mr Hague today, saying: "The Conservatives brought in the fuel price escalator to increase petrol prices faster than inflation. Labour has scrapped these automatic increases in petrol duty.

"I accept that petrol prices have shot up, but it is mainly due to the oil companies raising prices.

"If William Hague now wants to cut the increase in fuel duty more than Labour, he'd better explain how he'll pay for it."

His comments echoed those yesterday of the Prime Minister, who claimed that lower taxes on fuel would mean fewer nurses and worse schools.

Tony Blair said cutting duty by 2p would cost the country almost £1 billion.

But motoring organisations and campaigners today branded his comments misleading and disingenuous.

Edmund King, director of the RAC Foundation, claimed the Treasury had already received a multi-billion windfall because steep rises in petrol prices meant extra VAT for the Government.

He claimed high fuel prices were hitting the elderly, the disabled, the poor and those in rural areas.

PICTURE - The cost of a litre of petrol at the Sutton Bank garage