THE Tesco garage at the heart of the contaminated fuel saga is expected to be closed for a total of 10 weeks.

Branksome Filling Station was boarded up after scores of people broke down having tanked up their cars with dodgy diesel three weeks ago.

Despite the ‘urgent investigation’ and ‘complex testing’ being undertaken, mystery still surrounds the nature of the alleged contaminant and the supermarket giant continues to be tight-lipped about what the works involve and if it is any closer to finding out what went wrong.

Staff at the store said the garage is expected to remain closed until the end of November while workmen drill down to the holding tanks to remove the contaminated fuel, which is believed to have caused thousands of pounds-worth of damage to upwards of 100 cars.

A spokesman from Tesco refused to say what the works involve and how long they will take.

Dozens of people contacted the Echo after their cars broke down soon after filling up at the Poole Road garage on Thursday, September 18.

Many told of repairs bills of upwards of £5,000, as well as the stress and inconvenience of broken-down vehicles.

The forecourt was closed as the complaints flooded in.

All the pumps were removed, the diggers moved in and tankers drained the massive fuel storage tanks below ground.

Yesterday, large piles of concrete and rubble were located where the pumps used to be and workmen were continuing to excavate the site.

Meanwhile, those affected are now seeing their cars repaired or compensation come in.

Tesco has never revealed the true number of people claiming compensation.

A spokesman for the company said he had ‘nothing further’ for the Echo but would be in touch ‘if anything changes.’