Some commuters are turning to sleeping in their cars rather than driving home from work to save money on fuel, a new report has revealed.
A survey carried out by the RAC Foundation and FairFuel UK has found that six per cent of motorists have slept in their car to 'avoid the expense of commuting to work'.
The news comes as the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne faces pressure to scrap the 3p per litre fuel duty hike planned for January in his autumn statement tomorrow.
Quentin Willson, national spokesman for FairFuelUK said, "These results prove that unless the Chancellor scraps the 3p rise on Wednesday ... he'll be delivering a cruel Christmas and an impoverished New Year to millions of families and tens of thousands of UK businesses.
"As a society we've never seen this sort of financial pressure put on personal mobility."
RAC technical director David Bizley urged the Chancellor to reconsider the fuel duty increase, saying: "Fuel duty in Britain is the highest in Europe and now represents 60% of the price we pay at the pump. Motorists are contributing £45 billion to the Treasury every year, but only a fraction is going to improve the quality of the road network."
Bizley went on to criticise the effect that high fuel prices are having on the economy, saying: "People are also telling us that they are facing tough choices about their careers with some now weighing up whether it is actually affordable to commute to work."
Osborne will make his autumn statement tomorrow at 12:30pm.
