Dozens of cars taken off road after ‘filling up with contaminated fuel’ at BP garage
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Local fuel draining service called by over 40 affected drivers. Dozens of cars have broken down after drivers “filled up with contaminated fuel” at a BP garage. Motorists have been left without their vehicles when they stopped working after reportedly visiting the BP garage in Rayleigh, Essex.
![[Motorists broke down after reportedly visiting the BP garage in Rayleigh, Essex.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/11/12/Screenshot-2025-01-11-at-12.04.46.jpg)
BP told the BBC that it had identified a potentially contaminated tank at the site which it is currently investigating. A local businessman who runs a local emergency fuel draining service said his “phone hasn’t stopped” and that he had been called out 40 times since Monday.
“Within an hour of [the first call], our phone hadn’t stopped,” Lee Pretlove told BBC Essex. “There’s quite a lot of cars affected. There are 40 we’ve dealt with and more coming in.”. He told the Basildon, Canvey and Southend Echo that he believed the issue stemmed from water contamination with petrol in the affected pump.
Mr Pretlove suspected that up to 100 cars could have been affected, with others potentially contacting other services. He told the BBC that one customer has had five of his vans break down and said: “He had none of his vans going to work that day, so, as you can imagine, he was quite upset,”.
A BP spokesperson said: “We have identified an issue at the site with a potentially contaminated tank, which is currently under investigation. “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.”.
