The big mistake you're making when it comes to spending on petrol is so easy to solve

Drivers could save money on petrol by avoiding the one big mistake of riding around with the boot full of unnecessary items.

Petrol prices have hit a record high of costing more than £1.60 a litre so you'll be wanting to make the fuel last longer now it's causing a bigger hole in your purse of wallet.

With the rising cost of living only set to get worse as fuel prices rise due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with the UK changing where it gets its oil and gas from, and more families are looking at ways to save money on their energy bills.

There are plenty of ways to save energy at home including this radiator hack and kettle hack but do you know you could save while on the move too when it comes to saving money on fuel with a simple cleaning hack to help your fuel go for further.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when driving around is having clutter inside their vehicle as this contributes to a higher fuel consumption. So the basic cleaning hack of making sure your car is kept clutter free at all times can help you shed pounds off your car fuel costs.

When a vehicle is carrying a heavier load it doesn't perform as well on the road and long inclines will become harder work for your vehicle and many motorists will have to put their foot down harder or change down a gear to speed up - and all of these methods use more fuel.

So instead of carrying around unnecessary items in your car, motorists are advised to have a clear out of items in their cars.

This week the RAC published its tips for saving money on fuel and it advised motorists against keeping "unnecessary items in your boot as they add weight to your vehicle" as the heavier a vehicle, the more fuel it will use.

Lightening the load won't make a difference to the miles per gallon but it could stop you from filling up with fuel as often and help your fuel economy in the long run.

Professional racing driver Rebecca Jackson broke the world record for the most countries visited on a single tank of fuel, so you could say she knows a thing or two about how to drive economically.

She advised, "To set any kind of fuel efficiency world record you have to be looking ahead as much as possible to pre-empt oncoming hazards. This is a good general driving habit but it was absolutely crucial for us.

"It’s all about keeping moving and not losing momentum. Accelerating from being stopped is very costly in fuel consumption terms and so is going up any steep incline.

"We tried not to use the brakes as much by easing off the throttle to reduce speed. If you can keep moving slowly rather than stopping in traffic that’s good, but you do have to be conscious of not being a pain to other drivers by leaving too much of a gap behind the car in front.

"You need to listen to the engine to make sure you don’t use excessive revs but you need to use enough, so it’s a fine balance as you don’t want the car to be labouring too much either."

So if you're wanting to make that full tank last that little bit longer, it's time to delve into the boot and back seats to see what items you've forgotten about.

The summer picnic blanket won't be needed for another few months yet, and the spare pair of boots you put into the the back when you couldn't decide which would look best with your Christmas outfit or perhaps you've still got the charity shop donations bag that you've not yet had chance to drop off taking up space, have a proper clear out and see what you really need.