A BOURNEMOUTH pensioner says his life turned into a living “nightmare” after his new car broke down on the way to a funeral having been pumped full of dodgy diesel from Tesco.

Dom Yetman spent his 82nd birthday sat waiting for the AA at a service station in Oxford after his new Renault Megane Sport Coupe wouldn’t start.

The retired pensions consultant, who was on his way to the Midlands to attend the funeral of an old school friend, had filled his car with contaminated diesel from the Tesco forecourt in Branksome just a few days before.

The grandfather of four, who is one of more than 100 people to have been affected by the crisis, said the supermarket giant is now facing a total bill of more than £8,000 to cover the cost of repairs, hire car rental and emergency roadside assistance.

He said he bought the car on Tuesday, September 16, and filled it up with diesel just two days later from the Tesco garage in Branksome.

The unlucky pensioner broke down in Oxford on his way to Birmingham on the Monday.

“The AA man started it by tweaking this, that and the other and got it to start,” he said.

“It was a nightmare. I dared not stop the rest of the way in case it wouldn’t start.”

The following day, the AA drained the fuel tank completely at the hotel Mr Yetman was staying at but his car broke down again in Stratford-Upon-Avon while he was on his way home. Repairs are expected to cost just under £6,500.

Mr Yetman said: “It was a brand new car and you don’t expect anything to go wrong. They are having to replace so many parts I’m just hoping it will be back to how it should be.”

A Tesco spokesman said: “I can confirm that we are paying the garage the full costs attached to repairing the vehicle and have been providing Mr Yetman with a hire car at our own expense throughout the period.

“Getting customers back on the road as quickly as possible has always been our number one priority.”

Re-opening

  • TESCO says the garage at the heart of the fuel fiasco will be re-opened on November 17 – more than eight weeks after it was first boarded up.
  • The firm has so far refused to say what caused the contamination or how many people were affected by the crisis.
  • The Tesco spokesman said investigations are ongoing.