Tesco has apologised to customers after a “an issue” with unleaded petrol at its filling station in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, caused about 75 cars to break down.

The breakdowns affected vehicles which were refuelled between mid-morning and early afternoon on Saturday and involved pumps using two of the six tanks.

The retailer said that after receiving reports of the possible contamination it closed the fuel station and fuel samples were removed and tested by external consultants.

“We are aware of an issue with the unleaded fuel being sold from our Bangor store on Saturday afternoon,” Tesco said in a statement.

“We are investigating what happened and would like to apologise to any inconvenienced customers.

“We are in the process of contacting all customers who have come forward to say that they have been affected by the incident.

“Where we are found to have been at fault we will, of course, cover the reasonable costs of any repairs needed to customers’ vehicles as a direct result of the incident.”