Motorists across Bradford could benefit from a petrol pump price-war after Morrisons today slashed the cost of fuel.

The Bardford-based supermarket chain has cut the price of a litre of unleaded petrol by around two pence to 69.9p.

Unleaded petrol sold by the chain is now about 12p a litre cheaper than a year ago, and selling at a price last seen in April 1999.

Phil Maud, petrol filling stations controller for Morrisons, said: "The cost of crude oil has fallen and we are ensuring our customers reap the benefit by passing on the saving at the petrol pumps.

"Independent research consistently shows us to be Britain's cheapest fuel retailer and this latest price cutting move reinforces our commitment to giving motorists the very best value when they fill up at our forecourts."

And in a bid to keep their customers, rivals Tesco and Sainsbury's say they will be reviewing their prices.

A spokesman for Tesco said: "Our pricing policy is that we will never be beaten on price in a local area. If we have a Morrisons within a three-mile radius of one of our stores we will match that price as part of our price pledge anyway."

Sainsbury's announced a 2p price reduction last week, bringing its national average price for a litre of unleaded petrol down to 71.9p

"Prices do vary in different parts of the country. We are constantly reviewing prices to make sure that our prices are competitive," a spokesman said.

And the national petrol retailers joined the battle. A BP spokesman said: "Our position is that we will match any local pricing so we will look to any local market movement.''

A spokesman for the Petrol Retailers Association said the cut announced by Morrisons was "good'' for consumers.

"The market in petrol is very, very volatile and it goes up as often as it goes down at the moment."

An AA spokesperson said: "The crude oil barrel prices are coming down and we are just pleased that the retailers are passing the benefit on to the motorists as quickly as they pass the increases on when the prices go up.

"But this doesn't detract from the fact that 70 to 80 per cent of the price of petrol is tax that goes to the government, they are the ones that could make the biggest impact on steadying the prices.

"The supermarkets do tend to be very competitive on petrol prices which is good for the consumer in the short term but it may not be so easy for independent traders to compete."

An Esso spokesman said the company's price watch pledge meant it monitored the fuel prices of supermarkets within a three-mile radius of Esso stations and those of other outlets within a mile.

"The price watch pledge has been there since 1996 and ensures that we remain competitive and react accordingly.