Increasing numbers of drivers are "running on empty" as they struggle to cope with record fuel prices, one of the UK's biggest breakdown services warned today.

As the price of crude oil reached fresh highs on international markets, pushing up the price of petrol and diesel, the AA said that it had seen an increase in the number drivers running out of fuel in recent weeks - which has been 11 per cent above average over the last seven days.

“The record price at the pumps means that too many motorists are running on empty," said Edmund King, the AA president.

"Some may be shopping around for a better deal but run out of petrol before they find one. Other drivers perhaps assume that the £30 they put in the tank will get them as far as it did two months ago, but it doesn’t. Motorists could follow our eco-driving tips to get that bit further but should never run on fumes.”

The AA's warning came ahead of the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, when there are expected to be more than 18 million cars on the road.

The average bank holiday road trip planned via the AA's own online routeplanning service is a total of 304 miles; fuel costs over the holiday period are expected to reach £760 million, 17 per cent up on last year.

Adrian Tink, motoring strategist at the RAC, said that British motorists paid more in tax and duty on their fuel than those in any other European country. The price of diesel at the pumps has risen by about 30 per cent in the past year to hit £1.24 a litre, outstripping the rising price of petrol because of increased global demand for diesel.

"The statistic that really jumps out is how much it costs to fill the average car - well over £60 for a Mondeo or Vectra," Mr Tink said. "If you have a larger vehicle, you're approaching £80, £90 or £100. That's a great deal out of people's weekly budget."

The only relief from rising fuel prices he could see was intervention from the Government - not least from the scrapping of the planned 2p rise in fuel duty from October.

When you combine duty and VAT, they take between 60 and 70 per cent - that's by far the highest level in Europe," he said, adding that rising oil prices would already deliver the government a £500 million tax windfall this financial year.

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