• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Drivers' Fury As Blunder Garage Puts Diesel in Petrol Tanks Cars Grind to a Halt After Delivery Error Puts Wrong Fuel in the Pumps

Posted on: Monday, 21 November 2005, 12:00 CST

By GORDON THOMSON

MOTORISTS were left seething after they went to the pumps to fill up with petrol - but got diesel instead.

One car driver came to a grinding halt on the motorway after the mix-up with fuel at Morrisons supermarket filling station in Burnside near Glasgow.

The trouble began on Wednesday after a tanker driver poured thousands of gallons of diesel into an underground petrol tank after attaching a feeder pipe to the wrong valve.

Unsuspecting motorists wanting unleaded petrol then filled up their tanks with diesel.

Today, a motoring organisation said drivers' car engines could have been ruined by the blunder.

And Lynn and Darrell English, both 34, from Cambuslang, are worried about damage it may have caused their 18-month-old Vauxhall Astra.

Admin assistant Lynn said: "My husband filled up at the unleaded pump and within an hour the car was stopping and starting, and belching thick black smoke. The AA said diesel had been put into it."

After a day of calls they finally reached the branch manager who agreed to pay the cost of a hire car.

IT engineer Darrell and Lynn each missed a day's work trying to sort out the problems and had to make extra childcare arrangements. Now they are waiting to hear from their mechanic if the car is damaged.

Neil Greig, of the AA, said: "This can potentially ruin your engine."

It's not known just how big the diesel consignment was. Most tankers can carry up to 5000 gallons of fuel but embarrassed store bosses today tried to play down the incident.

A Morrisons spokesman said: "It was human error and only a small number of vehicles were affected as it was noticed almost immediately. We're obviously doing whatever we can to rectify the problems facing drivers."

The chain's insurers accepted liability, pledging to pay garage bills and provide courtesy cars.

The underground tank was emptied out and cleaned overnight before being refilled with petrol.

A Morrisons spokesman said: "It's business as usual today."

The incident comes just three months after a delivery driver made the same mistake at Asda in Dunfermline. The error came to light 10 hours later, by which time hundreds of motorists had driven off with diesel in their petrol tanks.

Mr Greig said: "It could suggest some tanker drivers are not getting the proper training."

gordon. thomson@ eveningtimes. co. uk

Source: Evening Times; Glasgow (UK)

More News in this Category