Motorists warned of 'contaminated fuel' as impacted drivers could face 'massive bills' from petrol issue

The issue was first flagged at the start of the week, prompting the BP garage to close on Tuesday before re-opening on Wednesday with the pump out of use.

BP, which owns the impacted garage, said an investigation was underway following the identification of an "issue".

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Speaking to the Daily Gazette, Lee Pretlove, owner of Fuel Out, claimed the company had been called out to 30 incidents in response to the petrol station issue.

He stated that the callouts came from drivers who had broken down or were unable to start their vehicles after buying fuel from the garage.

Pretlove added that the contaminated fuel issue had resulted in their busiest period in years, adding that "this does not happen frequently".

He claimed that most of the cars are breaking down because of what he suspects to be petrol contaminated with water.

The expert added: "We never see this many at all, the technicians pass jobs on to us and we have had loads of calls, we have been inundated.

"It is reversible and is a case of draining them out, a lot of these cars will need new spark plugs as this is damaging certain plugs and fuel filters."

He noted that some drivers were taking their vehicles to the garage and being slapped with "massive bills" because they were unaware of what happened to their cars.

Pretlove speculated that "as many as 100 people" could have been impacted by the contaminated fuel issue since other recovery services, like the AA and RAC, had also been called.

While it is not the same as dealing with contaminated fuel, the RAC estimates that around 150,000 Britons put the wrong fuel in their car every single year.

The general advice for motorists is to switch their engine off, pull over the a safe spot and call their breakdown cover or fuel specialists to drain the flush the fuel system.

A BP spokesman said: "We have identified an issue at the site with a potentially contaminated tank, which is currently under investigation.

"The affected tank in question has been isolated and the site is now open and operational.

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"We are taking steps to assess the potential impact and determine the number of people who may be affected.

"Any customers with concerns should contact our careline for support careline@bp.com."