Police fuel bungle revealed
Friday 31st October 2008, 11:29AM GMT.
A police force put 26 of its cars out of action by filling up with the wrong fuel, it was reported today.
Officers working for North Wales Police cost the taxpayer nearly £3,000 in the last 12 months by pumping petrol into their diesel engines, it has been reported.
In 2006 the force introduced bright yellow filler cap covers marked with the word “diesel”.
But that did not stop officers making the same mistake 26 times.
The information was released under the Freedom of Information Act.
A force spokesman said: “To insert the fuel nozzle, the flap must be physically moved which should bring the fuel type to the drivers’ attention.”
The RAC said in the last decade it has recorded a 385 per cent increase in the number of call-outs to drivers filling up with the wrong fuel.
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..and you call this news? Come on Shropshire Star reveal how many of your drivers have had tickets over the past 5yrs,judging by the standard of driving witnessed on a near daily basis everybody in the office are going to have to lend their fingers and toes :-)
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Nevermind, At least criminals can sleep easier at night knowing the police are this dumb.
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Accidents do happen, but all employees are bound by their work contract ie “incompetance” so i hope they recieve some sort of punishment.
As for the first comment on this post , “it is not news” well excuse me if its costing the tax payer money i as one demand to know about it , and what is being done to resolve the matter so it does not happen on a regular basis.
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Probably too busy looking for passing motorists doing slightly over the speed limit than looking what they were filling with.
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The sad thing is these people are the same people filling in legal documents in order to prosecute criminals. They cant even put the right fuel in their cars, and lets face it – its a 50-50 chance of getting it right even if you dont think about it, so we can assume another 26 didnt and got away with it by luck.
Its no wonder so many criminals are getting off on technical grounds, because when their case goes to court the paperwork has been filled out wrong. After all, when did you last hear of bank robbers caught because their getaway car had the wrong fuel in it? Unfortunately the robbers are smarter than the cops !
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Personally I’m suprised the Police use diesel engines, they won’t win many car chases with those, even if they do put the right fuel in.
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Perhaps in these days of targeted recruitment they insist on an IQ in single figures.
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oh so police are expected to be infallible now?
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Just goes to show it happens to the best of us. However I have never done it myself I hasten to add.
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£3000 for 26 cars – rubbish!!!
Their costs must be just looking at the fuel and a call-out not the real costs. A friend of mine paid nearly £700 to put their car right after driving off with the wrong fuel in it. What about lost time and damage if they drove off (unless they managed to notice just before they drove off – unlikely)- idiots.
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For a diesel, you should be able to empty the tank easily by accessing the fuel pump, then fill with diesel and keep topped up.
So £115 per car seems reasonable to me at garage rates.
I think Karen’s friend got ripped off or was a total muppet and kept driving when it was obvious there was a problem with the car, or may have been diesel in a petrol, which is a different story.
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