The UK government is planning to offer a discount on fuel sold in remote rural areas compensating for the high cost of transporting fuel to the areas for a small number of people.

The government has indicated that remote areas including Devon, Cornwall, Herefordshire, North Yorkshire and Wales and others will benefit from the 5p discount on fuel. Such scheme has already been offered in the Scottish islands and Scilly Isles but experts have warned that extending the discount to the mainland could create an uneven situation.

AA president Edmund King said, "On an island you have no other choice of where to buy petrol so there is not a postcode lottery, but this will mean garages on the other side of the B259 from the designated zone may go out of business. It will be difficult to set up."

The government is planning to offer a discount of 53p to 48p a litre to garages in remote areas in an effort to reduce the retail price and boost the rural economy. The government said that the rural petrol stations that have to charge more than 139p per litre for unleaded fuel and 145.5p for diesel, can apply for the rebate.