Asda launches petrol station investigation after car issues reported

Asda is investigating after some motorists said their vehicles had developed problems after they filled up at one of the supermarket chain's petrol stations in Northern Ireland.

Sandra Reid is among the people who have reported issues with their cars after buying fuel at the Asda branch in Coleraine, County Londonderry.

She said her car started to "chug along and struggle to accelerate" and eventually broke down, after leaving the forecourt on the Ring Road.

Asda has apologised for any inconvenience and removed some pumps at the site from service while an investigation is carried out.

Speaking to BBC News NI, Reid said she noticed issues with the car shortly after filling up at the site.

"I eventually managed to get the car started again and it again was struggling, but I nursed it to a car park in Long Commons area of Coleraine and there it has stayed ever since," she said.

"It's a paid car park so I have had to top up the parking app for four days now just to keep my car there until I can get someone out to look at it.

"I think I am down about £20 already on parking as I can't move the car."

Asda has not disclosed further details about the nature of the complaints or said when the petrol pumps are expected to return to service.

It is not yet known what may have caused the reported vehicle problems.

Dean Law said two cars belonging to his girlfriend Courteney and sister Emma broke down after they had filled up at the petrol station.

He said he and his girlfriend had now spent about £1,000 on mechanic bills after her car broke down on Monday when she was driving to work.

"She told me the car felt different and started to vibrate when she was driving, but she managed to get it to work.

"After work, she then went out and tried to start the car and it wouldn't move."

"It was only after we spoke to my sister, who had also filled up her car at the same petrol station on Sunday and whose car had also broken down, that we eventually realised the issue could be linked to the fuel," he said.

"I actually put up a Facebook post asking if anyone else had experienced the issues that we had and I couldn't believe the response.

"So many people started commenting and messaging me about it, so it seems to have impacted a number of people."

Law said the car was bought a year ago and that it was really frustrating to have to spend so much money on it.

David Jardine, from Belfast, said he was on a family holiday on the north coast at the weekend and filled up his car at the petrol station on Sunday night and broke down shortly afterwards in Portstewart.

"We were just heading up for a few days and filled up at Asda and I remember turning to my son in the car and saying the car doesn't feel right," he said.

"It was like jumping a bit and sounded strange.

"We got to Portstewart where we were staying and the car just completely died on us."

Jardine said his partner and two sons were fortunate that they had another vehicle to rely on during their stay.

"Thankfully my other son was driving his car up as he wanted to go off and meet up with his friends and we had two cars, but a lot of the plans we had were obviously impacted because we were down to the one car.

He said his car had to get towed back to Belfast and cost about £225 to fix.

David said the mechanic who inspected the car told him the issue "was due to bad fuel" and he has taken a samples of the fuel.