A BUSINESS owner has urged drivers to complain if their cars have broken down recently – as it could be caused by contaminated diesel that was on sale at Tesco in Huntingdon.

Andy Ibbotson, of Coneygear Road, Huntingdon, said he was left with a �500 repair bill for his Saab 93 after filling up with the diesel last month.

The next day, he had difficulty starting the engine, but managed to get his car going. A week later, the car lost power and stalled several times before failing to start.

Mr Ibbotson took his Saab to a garage which replaced the fuel pump and filter.

The mechanics told him that the problem had been the diesel, which was thick and black, not the normal yellow colour.

Mr Ibbotson, who runs electrical components company ANS Ltd, said: “It’s not the type of thing you expect when you fill up at Tesco.

“I was told that on the day I filled up the garage had run out of diesel, and technicians were working on some of the pumps before an emergency delivery. This would explain why I had contaminated diesel in my car.”

When Mr Ibbotson said that, when he first contacted Tesco to complain, he was told that they had not received any other complaints – the problem could not have been created at the filling station. But after proving his car was regularly serviced and producing fuel receipts, Tesco admitted liability.

“I have been lucky and have been told that they will pay for my repairs, but only because I could prove that it wasn’t my car.

“There may be, however, more people who have filled their car up and had problems, and they should complain to Tesco to have their car repair costs recovered.”

A spokesman for Trading Standards said that so far this year, five people had complained about the quality of diesel supplied by Tesco in Cambridgeshire, two of whom had used the Abbots Ripton Road filling station.

A Tesco spokesman told The Hunts Post: “A small number of customers – five out of the hundreds that would fill up in a day – have experienced problems with diesel during the cold snap.

“We apologise for this and we are arranging any necessary repairs to their vehicles.”

INFORMATION: Fuel complaints can be made to Consumer Direct on 0845 4040506.