“If we take VAT and fuel duty off white diesel it comes to about 80p to 95p a litre,” Mr Attenborough said. “If you do the same for red diesel it comes to about £1.20 a litre. Where does that disparity come from?”
Mr Attenborough took his boat “Holladays” to a local BP petrol station at a service station on the Thanet Way in protest of the high prices.
“I’ve spoken to friends around the country and it’s the same,” he said. “It means we have to earn £900 each day rather than £500 to make the business viable. That means we have to put more effort into fishing, while trying not to do much damage to the fish stocks.”
On a country-wide basis, white diesel costs £1.79 per litre on average, according to the RAC. Nationwide red diesel prices have increased from about 72p a litre in February to £1.13 today, after peaking at £1.51 earlier this month, according to website Boiler Juice, which tracks prices.
