A GARAGE boss in Neilston is doing his bit to help villagers by selling petrol at one of the lowest prices in the region, despite forfeiting a profit in the process.

Major retailers have come under fire for failing to pass on a drop in the wholesale cost to customers but John Robb, of John Robb & Sons, says he is determined to do what he can for the “folk who support him all year round.”

Last week, the RAC said the wholesale cost of unleaded – the price when it arrives at forecourts – was down to 131.75p per litre in the last week of July, which is a fall of 20p since the start of June.

The last time unleaded was this price on the wholesale market was in early May and, a week later, it led to an UK average pump price of 167p a litre.

But drivers were still paying an average of 183p at pumps across the UK.

John’s business was selling unleaded petrol for 168.9p and diesel for 183.9p last week.

This week, after the delivery of his latest tanker load, he dropped his prices again, in line with the wholesale rate, to 164.9p for unleaded petrol and 179.9p for diesel.

He told the Barrhead News: “We are not really trying to make money on fuel, we are just running it as a service in the area.

“It’s a workshop mainly I have. It is part of the business and it’s been there in the background but we don’t have many staff on it, so we just keep the cost minimal.

“We are covering the cost of the fuel pumps, the electricity and the credit card charges on top of the delivery cost and that’s where we get our retail price from.

“The price is dependent on the delivery cost. If it drops again, we’ll pass it on.

“I’ve got to fill up my own car and I just thought ‘everybody’s thinking about their kids going back to school, buying uniforms, so let’s see what we can do.’ “Let’s see if we can help folks a wee bit.”