Petrol soared from 87p a litre in December 2006 to £1.03 a litre last month, while diesel has gone from 93p to £1.07.

That, combined with other essential vehicle bills, means the cost of motoring has gone up more than 10 per cent in the past year. There is little relief, either, for those who use public transport, with fares up 5.9 per cent.

Elsewhere, clothing, eating out, prescriptions and phone bills also rose by above average. Even heading to the pub has become something of a luxury. A typical pint of bitter has risen from £2.24 to £2.32, while lager has leapt even higher, from £2.55 to £2.65.

Higher mortgage costs, the credit crunch and a new wave of energy price rises have also left many households struggling to make ends meet. But it is not all bad news, with the price of some goods actually falling in price in shops over the past year.

For example, TV sets are now 14 per cent cheaper than last December, digital cameras have come down by almost 32 per cent  and package holidays have fallen by a modest 1.4 per cent.

Gas and electricity bills also fell last year – even though they are about to rise again.

However, the consumer prices index – the Government’s preferred measure of inflation – is still above its target of 2 per cent. The alternative retail prices index, which includes mortgages, fell from 4.3 per cent in November to 4 per cent in December.