The soaring prices come after the start of the Iran war in the end of February, with diesel now at 205.9p per litre at Membury services in Berkshire, and unleaded petrol reaching 185p per litre.

Some drivers are reducing their journeys due to the unaffordable fuel prices.

The Government has frozen fuel duty in an effort to alleviate the burden, while motoring groups advise shopping around for the best deals.

Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, commented on the situation: “Fuel prices continued to rise over the weekend with petrol climbing to a new Iran War high of 160.85p and diesel going back over 180p, something drivers haven’t seen since 9 June.

“Unleaded has now risen more than 10p a litre – 7 per cent – since bottoming out at 150.59p on 6 July while diesel is up 16p (15.8p) a litre, or 10 per cent, almost fully reversing June’s 16.6p reduction, which was the biggest monthly drop on record.

“Positively for petrol car drivers, RAC analysis of wholesale fuel data shows prices at the pump should begin to stabilise this week.

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Some drivers are reducing their journeys due to the unaffordable fuel prices. (Image: Ed Nix)

“But the news for those who rely on diesel, including many businesses, is worrying as it looks set to carry on rising, possibly reaching 185p in the next week or so.”

The rise in fuel prices coincides with the summer holiday season, when more than 20 million UK drivers are expected to hit the roads this week.

The AA is advising motorists to use price comparison apps powered by the Government’s Fuel Finder service to “beat the higher prices.”

The increase in prices has led to record numbers of forecourt drive-offs.

Forecourt Eye, a fuel theft prevention company, reported a 20 per cent increase in incidents of fuel taken without payment in the five months following the conflict’s onset on February 28, compared to the previous five months.

The surge in pump prices due to the war has driven the value of stolen fuel up by 48 per cent over the same period, reaching an estimated daily average of £194,000 across the UK’s 8,359 forecourts.

Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association, noted that its members are “reporting increasing levels of abuse and aggression towards colleagues who are simply doing their jobs and have no influence over the price displayed on the forecourt”.

The Government has postponed its planned September 2026 increase to fuel duty until the end of the year due to rising pump prices.

Originally introduced by the Conservatives in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the 5p reduction was set to end in September 2026.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Scran has launched an iOS and Android cooking app for neurodivergent users. Developed in Edinburgh by founders with backgrounds in technology and accessibility, it aims to change how recipes are presented to reduce the mental effort involved in cooking.

Users can import recipes from websites, social media, photos and cookbooks. The app then restructures them into shorter, more explicit steps.

Its launch comes amid growing attention on digital products designed around accessibility needs rather than adapted later. The founders said common recipe formats can be hard to follow because preparation is often buried in later instructions, ingredient quantities are separated from method steps, and longer directions require repeated rereading.

Scran moves preparation tasks to the start of a recipe, places ingredient amounts within each step and breaks longer directions into smaller actions that users can tick off as they cook. It also includes serving-size adjustments, aisle-sorted shopping lists, measurement conversion, larger text, dark mode and dyslexia-friendly fonts.

Scran was created by Grant Macgregor and Jonny Kirkaldy, an Edinburgh-based couple who said they have spent 15 years designing digital products, including accessibility work for neurodivergent users. The app was built with input from home cooks, including people with ADHD, dyslexia and autism.

During a four-month pilot, 200 people tested the product and their feedback shaped how recipes are imported, simplified and followed. Scran said the app recorded a 30% week-four retention rate during the trial, while a voluntary follow-up survey found that 32 of 36 respondents said it made cooking from recipes easier. Of those, 19 said it was much easier and 13 said it was somewhat easier.

Inclusive Design

The founders say the central issue is cognitive load. Rather than offering a standard recipe database, the app focuses on changing the structure of recipe instructions so each task is clearer and easier to complete in sequence.

“Standard recipe formats assume everyone processes information the same way. We’ve heard from so many people who blame themselves when a recipe trips them up, when really it’s the recipe that’s failing them. We want to give people the confidence to cook whatever they want to,” said Jonny Kirkaldy, co-founder of Scran.

Scran uses artificial intelligence to import and simplify recipes, but the wider proposition rests on design rules created through research with neurodivergent cooks. The founders said the system is intended to create more consistent step-by-step instructions across different recipe sources.

The app enters a crowded market for meal planning and recipe tools, but it targets a narrower user group with a specific accessibility problem. That may help explain the pilot’s retention figures, which Scran cites as evidence of demand for a simpler way to follow recipes.

Consumer apps aimed at accessibility needs have often focused on reading, communication or mobility. Cooking has received less attention, even though recipe formats combine several common pain points at once, including dense text, task switching, sequencing and working memory demands.

One tester described the effect of restructuring steps into single actions.

“This app is life-changing. Having the steps broken down into single actions makes my life so much easier and less overwhelming. I want to enjoy cooking and the app does the hard bit for me!” said Sofia.

Commercial Model

Scran is self-funded and is launching with a subscription model after a free trial period. The service is priced at £29.99 a year or £4.99 a month, putting it in line with many paid productivity and lifestyle apps rather than free recipe platforms supported by advertising.

That pricing suggests the founders are betting users will pay for a tool that solves a practical problem rather than for access to recipes alone. The pilot’s retention and survey data will be watched as an early indicator of whether accessibility-led consumer software can sustain paid subscriptions in a competitive app market.

Macgregor said the project was built around a specific use case rather than broad claims about technology.

“For us, technology is at its best when it solves a specific, real-world accessibility issue. By combining inclusive design, a supportive app experience and ongoing community feedback, we’ve built something that can help more people stay on track, feel confident and enjoy cooking more,” said Grant Macgregor.

Jack Bristow, 23, from Sutton Courtenay, died after a tree fell on his truck while he was working in Hampshire.

He suffered a catastrophic head injury and was pronounced dead at the scene. He left behind his son, Harvey, who was one at the time.

Mr Bristow and driver Callum Smith had left Hooke Highways Limited’s Watlington depot at about 7.55am to remove traffic management equipment across the South East that could have been blown away in severe winds.

Jack Bristow , 23, died working in Storm Eunice in 2022 (Image: Unknown)

They were travelling back to Oxfordshire on Old Odiham Road when the accident happened at about 11.43am.

His parents, Teresa White and Gary Bristow, brought a claim against the company, arguing it had breached its duty of care by sending him to work during a Met Office Red Warning for extremely strong winds.

However, Judge Irena Sabic KC dismissed the claim, saying the risk of death while travelling as part of the assignment “was not reasonably foreseeable”.

She warned against “setting a novel standard of care” by which negligence could be established against an employer.

In her judgment, she said: “My view is that the precautions that the Claimants say should reasonably have been taken are not practicable or realistic. The risk of this horrific accident occurring was simply not foreseeable.”

Expressing sympathy for Mr Bristow’s relatives, the judge said he had been described as “hard working, caring, witty and completely devoted to his son”.

The family’s separate claim against landowner Davis Meisels, from whose land the tree fell, will be determined in due course.