AN MP is to write to the Chancellor calling for a fuel rebate for her constituency, which has the most expensive diesel in the country.

Thirsk and Malton MP Anne McIntosh is hoping to secure a petrol discount for parts of Ryedale similar to the one recently awarded to areas of rural Scotland and the Isles of Scilly.

Motorists on some remote Scottish islands will qualify for a 5p-a-litre discount on fuel from March 1.

The MP has been campaigning for some time for a similar fuel duty rebate scheme for the remote rural areas she represents.

Figures released last week by the Countryside Alliance, revealed that motorists in the North Yorkshire district are paying the highest diesel prices in the country.

The two most expensive areas in the country were identified as Ryedale in North Yorkshire and Purbeck, in Dorset. The lowest price motorists could pay for diesel in Ryedale was 146.9p per litre, compared to the 139.7p for drivers in North Tyneside.

According to the Countryside Alliance, drivers filling up at petrol stations in rural areas will, on average, pay 4p more per litre for diesel than those in urban areas. The rural campaign group has claimed cars are becoming an ‘unaffordable necessity’ for many living in rural communities and is urging the Chancellor to cut fuel duty in his forthcoming budget.

Miss McIntosh said: “It’s putting up the cost of living and of course we don’t have wide-spread public transport here. The bus services are limited because it’s such a rural area.

“Those most vulnerable are the old and people with young children, who need to use their own cars to get to the doctors, to do their shopping and just for day-to-day life. Even businesses like the village shops are affected, who are dependent on people having their own transport to get to them.

“It’s getting to the point where people can’t afford to fill up their tanks.”