Drivers who use diesel vehicles are currently being "ripped-off" at the pumps, a motoring group has said.

The RAC, along with other groups, has claimed that motorists and businesses are paying over the odds for the fuel, at around 16p per litre.

Analysis from the RAC showed diesel was 6p a litre cheaper than petrol on the wholesale market at the end of last month.

However, the average pump price was 159.43p while petrol was unchanged at 146.5p, Sky News reported.

The actual price they reckoned drivers should be paying is around 143p per litre.

Barrhead News: The actual price people should be paying for diesel right now is 143p per litre, the RAC saidThe actual price people should be paying for diesel right now is 143p per litre, the RAC said (Image: Yui Mok/PA Wire/PA Images)

What did the RAC have to say about this?

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: "We feel there should be an obligation on retailers to reflect wholesale price movements on their forecourts.

"Sadly, the only place this seems to happen is in Northern Ireland where a litre of diesel is, incredibly, being sold for 12p less than the UK-wide average."

He went on to say that the average retailer margin on a litre of diesel is 22p per litre compared to just 8p on petrol and that retailers are making three times what they have in the past for diesel.

Williams added: "Action at a government level is badly needed to stop drivers being ripped off any longer."

A spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium, which represents the major retailers, told Sky News: "The price of diesel has been falling consistently throughout 2023 as retailers aim to provide their customers with the best value for money."

Despite the cost of diesel being high, it is slightly cheaper on average at supermarkets with it being 2.75p cheaper than the national average price.