Supermarket giant Morrisons has come under fire for charging motorists more for fuel in Bridport than it does elsewhere.

The price of fuel at the store's garage in West Bay Road has been a sore point with locals who have complained the charges are unfair - at a time when prices are at an all-time high generally.

They say the supermarket petrol station, which is well used by locals and passing drivers, charges more compared to other sites in the area - and even more than Morrisons in Yeovil which is 20 miles away.

The Bridport News has received a number of letters on the subject this summer.

Read more: Fuel price now dropped - was it a tourist surcharge for summer?

Now the Bridport Business Chamber of Trade and Commerce has shared its 'deep concern' over the price of fuel locally.

In a letter to Morrisons, the Chamber said: "Your forecourt fuel price is considerably higher than other Morrisons’ stores in the neighbouring towns and, at the time of writing, also higher than anywhere else around Bridport.

"Social media is now full of very negative stories involving Morrisons, suggesting that residents and tourists are being ‘ripped-off’ by higher prices, just because we are a popular holiday destination. Suggestions have included boycotts and even protests. The employees and colleagues at the store and forecourt kiosk we have approached to ask about this disparity in prices have been unable or unwilling to provide a credible reason for this.

"The business community and the people of Bridport are very concerned and now require a response from you, to alleviate their concerns in these very difficult times."

Local Kevin Payne highlighted the disparity between the price of petrol at Morrisons in Bridport and the BWOC garage in Misterton in August – 178p vs 164p.

He said: "Surely the only reason they can charge 14p more a litre for petrol than a garage that is less than 12 miles away is that there is, in effect, no competition."

Meanwhile, Alan Hooley from Burton Bradstock said the prices had come down at Bridport Morrisons since the summer although the supermarket's garage in Yeovil was still selling fuel 9p a litre cheaper.

A spokesman for Morrisons said: "In the UK petrol prices vary from town to town and even neighbourhood to neighbourhood and we will always strive to be competitive in each local area.

"Occasionally this can mean price differences between different areas open up. We continually review our prices and will look to reduce this difference as soon as we can."