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Tesco apologises for faulty fuel

06/03/2007

Supermarket giant Tesco has promised to pay repair costs for any cars damaged by its petrol.

The UK's biggest retailer took out pages of advertising in several major newspapers today to apologise to its customers and offer to pay for damage caused.

In a statement Tesco said: "We'd like to say how sorry we are. More to the point, we'd like to promise to pay for the repairs."

"All the affected stores in the south east of England have been refuelled with a fresh, clean supply," the retail giant adds.

Last week hundreds of motorists found their cars broke down after filling up with petrol at Tesco garages, mainly around the south-east, leading the supermarket to empty its 150 petrol outlets in the region.

On Friday the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) revealed that traces of silicon had been found in petrol samples taken from cars thought to have been adversely affected by petrol bought from Tesco petrol stations. Rival supermarket chain Morrison was also thought to have sold contaminated fuel unknowingly.

Greenergy, supplier to both supermarkets in question, revealed on Friday that a component used in the production of unleaded petrol by Harvest Energy, the fuel producer that shares final delivery tanks at the Vopak terminal in West Thurrock with Greenergy, showed excess levels of silicon.

In a statement issued from Harvest Energy, the provider stressed the higher silicon fuel had been isolated. It said it could "guarantee that no further supplies of high silicon unleaded petrol will be distributed from the West Thurrock terminal".


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