Heating oil costs soar in Kent, Sussex and Surrey as Iran war continues

A man has told the BBC that people who rely on heating oil are being "held to ransom" by suppliers. Keith Bainbridge, from Virginia Water in Surrey, contacted BBC Your Voice to say that the price of his heating oil had more than doubled following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. "It is scandalous," he added. "In times of crisis you can expect some increases, but for heating oil this has been exorbitant. We're being taken for a ride." The UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association said its members were doing "everything they can" to support oil-heated homes in a volatile market. It added that shifts in wholesale prices were reflected quickly in customer prices because distributors bought almost daily. "We have also seen a very large and unexpected increase in demand," the trade association said. Bainbridge told the BBC he was avoiding using his heating oil and would not buy any more. "I don't know how long this is going to go on for," he said. Jason Barge told BBC Radio Kent recent "ridiculous" price increases were affecting his home and business, which both run on heating oil. "We've got to budget now for an extra nearly £1,000 a tank," he said. "It's quite a lot of money