THE SPIRALLING cost of petrol has prompted a furious attack from a Preston Tory candidate.

Graham O'Hare, Preston's Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, has slammed the escalating cost of fuel -- accusing Tony Blair of 'ripping folk off' by what he describes as a "petrol pump stealth tax".

Motoring organisation the AA has calculated that the extra taxation on fuel, introduced by Labour, costs the Preston motorist an extra £200 a year.

Mr O'Hare stormed: "The people of Preston are being ripped off by this stealth tax. The cost of fuel has risen by a massive 44 per cent since Labour came to power.

"It's scandalous. I'm worried that if this trend continues, then the car will become a rich man's toy with ordinary people unable to afford the price of fuel."

The Conservatives claim they are committed to reducing the price of fuel.

He added: "We raised this issue last September when we pledged to scrap the automatic fuel duty escalator.

"If the government had listened to us, then they wouldn't have continued to increase taxes in Gordon Brown's March budget."

Mr O'Hare also attacked the Chancellor on "double standards" over pension payments. "Both pensions and petrol pump prices are calculated on the rate of inflation. However, Gordon Brown changed the accounting method in July 1997, which means that since Labour came to power the tax on fuel has risen by a massive 34 per cent whilst the increase given to pensioners is a miserly 8.1 per cent by comparison.

"This a creative accountancy and a national disgrace. Gordon Brown is cheating pensioners while ripping off motorists."

Meanwhile, one Preston petrol station owner is taking the fight over the hike in fuel straight to the top to get his message across to government.

Abdul Master, who owns the Fishergate filling station in Preston, has organised a petition for its customers, which he intends to present to Blackburn MP and Home Secretary Jack Straw.

Abdul, who lives in Blackburn, said: "We have organised this petition because we feel we are being squeezed out by oil companies. We are calling on the government to adjust the tax.

"This is definitely affecting my business. Hopefully, we will be presenting this petition to Jack Straw in the next two weeks."