Martin Lewis has warned drivers to avoid using a ‘money burner’ too often as fuel prices soar. Petrol prices are now 10p higher than before the Iran war escalated, and diesel costs have shot up by 20p a litre, according to new figures.

The RAC said prices at the pump were “really starting to hurt drivers” as they continue to rise amid the conflict in the Middle East. The average price of unleaded petrol at UK forecourts was 142.3p a litre on Tuesday, up 7.1% since February 28.

Average diesel prices had jumped by nearly 14% over the roughly two-week period to 162.1p per litre. Speaking on his ITV Money Show Live this week Mr Lewis said people could cut usage of fuel y up to 30 per cent with a few simple tips.

He said one of the key aspects is how you drive the car – with being too heavy on the brake and accelerator the biggest mistake. He said: “our accelerator is a money pump. When you are pressing it, you are spending the fuel that you have put into the car.

“Your brake isn’t much better; it’s a money burner because when you’re braking, you are converting the energy stored into the car into heat and throwing it away. Now, I’m not saying don’t accelerate or brake, because that’s what driving’s all about. But yeah, obviously, your road positioning, safe distance from the car in front, thinking ahead, all enables you to speed up more slowly and slow down more gradually, which is massively more fuel efficient.

”So it all sounds a bit silly on the back of that, but when they do studies, making your car more efficient and driving a better way can cut 10% to 30% off your petrol and diesel cost, depending on where you start. So it really is worth having a look at, especially at the moment when prices are high. Not rocket science, but worth knowing.”

Mr Lewis also suggested making a few changes to the car:

Roof Rack Off:

He said that if you’ve got a roof rack on and you’re not using it – to take it off. He said: “If that’s empty, get rid of it. Really inefficient. You’re having to push that through the wind on the motorway as you drive.”

Items in the boot:

He said: “You want to get rid of junk in your trunk. Extra weight—for every about 45kg, it makes your car 1% less fuel efficient. So we get anything out of the boot that we’re not using and heavy weight.”

Check Tyre Pressure

Mr Lewis said under-inflated tyres can add 3% or 4% to fuel bills when it’s not more efficient. “So get your tyres checked and pumped up properly.”

Turn Off Aircon

He said: “Finally, aircon. When you’re going at low speeds, your aircon can be really quite expensive proportionally, make the car much less fuel efficient. At high speeds, if it’s warm, keep it on, because opening your windows is again on the motorway will really add drag and make the car have to work much harder to go further.”