WITH the price of petrol soaring to record levels and rising at its fastest rate for 10 years, driving your car has never been so expensive.

However a handy new tool produced by the Guardian now allows you to find the cheapest garage in your area without having to drive round wasting your money doing so.

Average petrol prices increased to 128.77p a litre in the month to mid-January, a rise of 6p per litre.

And figures show that 62 per cent of people in the UK are now driving less – and five per cent have stopped altogether due to the spiralling costs.

However, you can now find the cheapest petrol in your area, or whichever area of the country you may be in at any time, right here at the click of a button.

Just click on the link below, type in an area of your choice, browse the map to compare prices at various petrol stations, then jump in the car to get the best local deal.

Click here to compare local petrol prices