DRIVERS across East Lancashire were delighted after a pair of major supermarkets dropped the price of petrol to below £1 a litre for the first time in six years.

The decrease at Asda and Morrisons petrol stations is the first time the unleaded price has dipped below the £1 mark since 2009, apart from a one-off promotion on ‘Black Friday’.

The move has been welcomed by taxi drivers in Blackburn and calls have been made for other supermarkets and petrol companies to follow suit.

The Asda price drop, falling by 2p to 99.7p, was set to last for three days, while Morrisons said it hoped to keep its price of 99.9p for ‘as long as possible’.

Asda said the price of diesel was also being cut to 103.7p per litre, while Morrisons was cutting its by 1p.

Mohammed Younis, chairman of the Blackburn and District Taxi Association, said: “This is a real boost for taxis.

“It will make a difference to the amount of money that we can keep in our pockets.

“Since 2009 the price has steadily been going up but over the last 12 to 18 months it has been going back down again and I hope that this continues.

“It’s great that Asda and Morrisons have decided to do this and I hope that other petrol stations decide to do the same thing.

“The further the price drops the better for everyone.”

An Asda spokesman said the promotion, due to run at all 277 of its filling stations until tomorrow, reflects the savings it has made thanks to the price of crude oil hitting a six-year low.

Andy Peake, Asda’s senior petrol director, said: “We’re adding a further boost by investing in a three-day fuel price drop meaning drivers can now benefit from fuel as low as 99.7 pence per litre in the crucial run-up to the festive period.

“We know our competitors are likely to follow but Asda don’t have a postcode lottery on fuel, meaning no matter where customers live, they will benefit from the same fuel price at every single one of our filling stations with our national price cap of 99.7ppl for unleaded and 103.7ppl for diesel.”

Bryan Burger, petrol retail director at Morrisons, said: “For the first time in more than six years, we are moving unleaded prices down to below £1-a-litre.

“This is a moment where motorists will feel some relief after being clobbered by tax and price rises for the last decade.”

The price per barrel of Brent crude dipped below 40 dollars earlier this week and the average price of diesel is already at a six-year low, dropping to 109.18p last Friday.