CONTAMINATED petrol from Murco refinery may have caused problems for a large number of drivers who filled up in Carmarthen or Llanelli yesterday.

The Carmarthen Journal reported a large number of cars breaking down after filling up with unleaded fuel at Morrisons in Carmarthen and Llanelli – with some only making it a few hundred metres before grinding to a halt.

Morrisons has apologised to affected customers and has said it will reimburse the cost of the fuel and repairs.

A company spokeswoman said: “Morrisons sources its unleaded petrol from the Milford Haven Refinery, which has confirmed to us that a batch of fuel may have been contaminated with water.

“Deliveries to two Morrisons stores – Carmarthen and Llanelli – appear to have been from the affected batch.

“As soon as we became aware of the problem we immediately took the unleaded off sale at these sites.

“We apologise to those motorists affected and are doing everything we can to support them.

“Customers affected will be reimbursed for their fuel, vehicle recovery and any repairs which are needed.”

A spokesperson for Murco said a number of deliveries of unleaded fuel from its Pembrokeshire refinery may have been contaminated by water.

"We are currently carrying out an investigation to determine whether such contamination has occurred at our site and its cause," the statement read.

"Until such time we complete our investigation we will maintain additional controls to ensure that any fuel leaving the site is free of contamination."