"Britain's oil companies today were accused of acting like bandits over the price of petrol."

It's a familiar story - but that quote from the front page of The Press is actually almost 20 years old.

The furore which erupted in York this week over petrol prices is nothing new.

From shillings to new pence; from gallons to litres - the rising cost of fuel has been an ongoing irritant for drivers in our area.

This week, there was outrage as petrol hit £1-a-litre. But flashback to the 1970s, and there was equal concern as the price soared past £1-a-gallon (4.5 litres).

In September 1979, we reported rising prices were putting independent petrol stations out of business, as motorists looked for maximum savings.

Fast forward 27 years, and little has changed - only last week, David Lord, manager of Leeman Road Filling Station, in York, said he feared £1-a-litre prices would mean him losing customers.

One of these pictures ("Do not despair, we still have free air") of a Shell garage near Yarm shows drivers' gripes go back even further. It was taken in February 1975, as prices hovered around 72p a gallon.

Ten years on, in March 1985, prices were up to almost £2 a gallon, or 44p a litre, with leading supplier Esso blaming the drop in the value of the pound for the rise.

Price wars in the 1990s brought respite for car owners - but in late 1996, The Press was again reporting motorists' outrage, as the £3 gallon reached York.

In 2000, as the country was hit by widespread fuel protests, prices reached £4 a gallon, or 84p a litre. And earlier this year, drivers were once again dismayed, when we reported the looming spectre of the £5 gallon.