POOR fuel management could result in bankruptcy for companies that ignore the impact of the Government's fuel duty escalator, warns an academic. The escalator is set to increase petrol and diesel by at least 6% above inflation each year but many fleets have failed to realise the scale of the problem, says Michael Coyle at the University of Huddersfield.

Oyle, who has carried out a study on the effects of the rising costs on fleets, warns: 'This is not something that is going to go away. Operators must take steps now to counter the increase in costs caused by the fuel price escalator.'

His comment comes after a survey on behalf of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions revealed British businesses were losing £450million a year because their fleet managers were failing to monitor fuel.