WHILE fuel prices still remain high compared to the start of 2026, the price paid at the forecourt, particularly for diesel has begun to fall slightly in comparison to April.

Recent legislation has made it mandatory for fuel station operators to publish how much they are charging per litre of fuel in order to enable motorists to compare.

However, it is still very much the case that the price of fuel is a postcode lottery – with a noticeable variation in price between the towns of Cornwall.

In the instance of diesel, there is a 16 pence per litre difference between the cheapest town of St Austell (169.9p) and the most expensive in Camelford (185.9p) while there is a 15p difference between Saltash (149.9p) and Camelford (164.9p) for petrol.

We have compared the cheapest price for petrol and diesel in all of Cornwall’s main towns, within a five mile radius.

The three cheapest towns to purchase fuel are all in South East Cornwall.

In Saltash, the cheapest petrol is at Hatt Fuel Station, where a litre of petrol costed 149.9 pence per litre while in Torpoint, the same amount was the cheapest found.

At the other end of the scale, Hayle, St Ives, Looe and Camelford were all the most expensive places to buy petrol.

In the instance of Looe and Camelford, this is likely to be at least partly down to the lack of competition in the area – with less fuel stations within a five mile radius of these towns compared to others.

Here is the cheapest price for petrol within five miles of each named place.

· Saltash – 149.9p

· Torpoint – 149.9p

· Callington – 150.9p

· Penzance - 150.9p

· Helston – 151.9p

· Launceston – 152.9p

· St Austell – 154.9p

· Newquay – 155.9p

· St Blazey – 155.9p

· Camborne – 156.9p

· Liskeard – 156.9p

· Lostwithiel – 156.9p

· Redruth – 156.9p

· Truro – 156.9p

· Bodmin – 157.7p

· Bude – 157.9p

· Falmouth – 157.9p

· Penryn – 157.9p

· Padstow – 158.9p

· Wadebridge – 158.9p

· Hayle – 159.7p

· St Ives – 159.7p

· Looe – 161.9p

· Camelford – 164.9p

The cheapest place at present to get diesel in Cornwall is within five miles of St Austell, with a price of 169.9 pence per litre at Penwyn Garage, approximately four and a half miles away from St Austell.

Penzance once again features as one of the cheapest places for fuel with a second-cheapest price per litre for diesel with the lowest amount in that town of 171.9 pence per litre.

Here is the cheapest price for diesel within five miles of each named place.

· St Austell – 169.9p

· Penzance – 171.9p

· Helston – 172.9p

· Truro – 172.9p

· Saltash – 173.9p

· Torpoint – 173.9p

· Camborne – 174.9p

· Newquay – 174.9p

· Redruth – 174.9p

· Bodmin – 176.7p

· Lostwithiel – 176.7p

· Bude – 176.9p

· Falmouth – 176.9p

· Liskeard – 176.9p

· Penryn – 176.9p

· Callington – 177.7p

· Launceston – 177.9p

· St Blazey – 178.7p

· Wadebridge – 178.9p

· Hayle – 181.7p

· St Ives – 181.7p

· Looe – 184.9p

· Camelford – 185.9p