Cornish homeowners see heating oil bills affected by Iran war

Some Cornwall residents say their home heating oil bills have more than doubled since the Iranian conflict began. They said the price for a litre of oil had risen from about 62p at the beginning of the month to £1.30 on Friday. Pauline Trubody, who lives in Porkellis near Helston, said on Friday she had been quoted a cost of £724 for 500 litres (110 gallons) of oil and if this trend continued, she would not be able to afford to heat her home. Oil distributors have urged people to only buy what they need and believed prices could drop back down when events linked to the war settled. After the conflict started, Iran warned vessels not to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. About 20% of the world's oil and gas is shipped through the strait, but marine traffic has slowed in recent days. Trubody said she felt some oil firms were trying to "make a fast buck" from the situation. She added: "You have to look at the pennies and see how far they stretch and if they don't stretch, then what do you do?" Ruth Goodman, who lives in Shortlanesend near Truro, said she did not understand how the high price rises could be justified. "If you haven't got any other source of heating,