Following recent VAT and fuel duty rises, the Federation of Small Businesses carried out a snap poll of 400 members.

It found one in four businesses said they will have to freeze wages and one in 10 said they will start laying off staff if the cost of fuel continues to increase.

Tony Smith runs a small haulage company of 15 lorries in Scunthorpe. 

He told Sky News had it not been for some recently-acquired work, rising fuel costs nearly forced him to shut his business down.

"At Christmas time I seriously sat down and considered whether I wanted to continue in the haulage business purely because of the amount of effort that goes into running the business for the very little reward. 

"It got to such a stage where we were seriously considering just packing up and letting the 15 drivers go."

The latest figures from the AA show average petrol prices rose to a record high of 128.7p a litre this month. The cost of diesel is now 133.01p.

Neil Poole, from the Federation of Small Businesses, told Sky News: "The next six to 12 weeks are going to be a real concern for some businesses as clearly everyone is looking to manage their costs as well as they possibly can. 

"Obviously with the fuel price increases it's very difficult to purchase fuel at a cheaper price so they're having to try to absorb them and cut corners in other areas of the business."

The Government has talked about the possibility of a fuel price stabiliser which would reduce fuel duty at times of high oil prices. However, that now looks uncertain.

A new coalition, called FairFuel UK which encompasses, among others, the Road Haulage Association, is calling on people to sign an online petition to force the Government to intervene.

Kate Gibbs, of the Road Haulage Association, told Sky News: "The economy is so much based on the price of fuel, and hauliers are having to pass those costs onto their customers.

"They're costs that cannot be maintained indefinitely."

Britain's small businesses are also calling

Sky News