The head of a national oil distribution company will face islanders over the high price of fuel in the Western Isles.

A petition calling for an investigation into pricing by distributors has attracted more than 1600 signatures before it was lodged with the Scottish Parliament.

The Office of Fair Trading recently announced plans to probe the high cost of fuel in the Scottish islands.

Sam Chambers, of Scottish Fuels, has agreed to try to answer why petrol costs around £1 per gallon more in the Hebrides compared to Inverness, even though the fuel is carried by a coastal tanker on the same voyage around the north of Scotland.

Mr Chambers is expected to explain that the fuel is still owned by wholesalers Conoco until it is drawn down from tanks in Stornoway and Loch Carnan, at the meeting on Tuesday evening.

Fuel prices campaigner Callum Macmillan said: "It is up to Mr Chambers to tell us all why our prices are sometimes up to 20p a litre more than on the mainland."

He said that industry analysts calculate the difference in shipping costs to amount to just "two or three" pence per litre.

IN DETAIL

• Protests over fuel price in Western Isles