A flotilla of 10 oil tankers are anchored in Lyme Bay while the meter on oil prices keeps ticking over. They’ve been there two months and in that time the value of their cargo has increased from £313 million to  £378 million. While the boys in the City can speculate on such million pound a day rises, such tactics mean the rest of us will be facing a 26 per cent increase at the petrol pumps this year by Christmas, reports the Daily Mail.

They won’t discharge until the price is right, so let’s hope the mother of all hurricanes – preferably a breeze from the north-east – will hit these sharks causing them to drag their ground tackle out into the desolate Western Approaches.

Alternatively the good folks of Brixham, Devon could go oil-tanker-crew bashing when they come ashore, or the local yacht clubs could form their own flotilla and sail out with hot bread rolls, and the daily newspapers, filled with sileage for delivery.