IT may be called Doughnut City by some, but it’s the roundabouts in Basingstoke that could save motorists money.

Boffins at petrol giant BP think drivers can save £314.09 per year with more efficient driving along the borough’s roads and especially at roundabouts.

I was sceptical, but BP were so confident of their calculations they sent an expert to the Gazette office to show me.

I took out a fuel-efficient Ford ECOnetic Focus car with an onboard computer that recorded every squeeze of the accelerator and every stab at the brakes.

From the Pelton Road Gazette office I tested the acceleration of the 1.7-litre engine and was immediately called “a bit of a rev jockey” by Ian Dawson, the engineer sitting in the passenger seat.

We completed a 20-minute loop around town, where Mr Dawson told me that in all the tests across the country the company had performed, Basingstoke had the second highest potential for fuel savings due to its high number of roundabouts.

He said it was at roundabouts that the savings could be made.

Mr Dawson explained that when joining a roundabout I should aim to always keep the car in motion for as long as legally possible – without obstructing other drivers. He said braking and accelerating quickly can use a third more fuel than gradually slowing down and speeding up.

As my speed got up to 50mph on the Churchill Way West Mr Dawson said that by closing the windows and using the air conditioning to stay cool I would save fuel as it would cut the car’s wind resistance.

By the end of our trip Mr Dawson said I had improved since when we first set out and a look at the onboard computer’s readout revealed that if I used his techniques I could save £375.83 per year as well as 933kg of CO2.

With that in mind I think I’ll leave the rev-jockeying to the boy racers.