THE Tesco garage that sold contaminated fuel to customers has been closed while urgent investigations into the cause of the problem continue.

More than 100 motorists are believed to have been left facing pricey repair bills after filling up their vehicles with duff diesel at the Tesco garage in Branksome last Thursday.

On Tuesday evening the entire filling station was boarded up and workmen were drafted in to begin removing the pumps at the heart of the fuel saga.

The supermarket giant confirmed diesel sold at the garage had been contaminated and said further tests were being carried out to establish what caused the problem.

A spokesman from the firm said:"The problem is trying to extract a sample of the contaminated fuel.

"Initial tests have been inconclusive. We are still waiting for the results of some tests, which are ongoing and quite complicated."

Tesco said where possible customers affected were being provided with courtesy cars and would be reimbursed for the cost of repairing their vehicles where appropriate.

Tesco has refused to say how many people have been affected by the issue.

The problem was highlighted at the weekend after motorists contacted the Daily Echo reporting problems with their vehicles after filling-up at the Poole garage on Thursday.

Most drivers reported coming to a halt soon after tanking-up.

They included private motorists and those driving for work.

They all reported a common theme - that when they took their cars to be checked by a mechanic, they were told that contaminated fuel had got into their vehicles' fuel systems and had caused major damage.

Some said they had been left with repair bills of up to £5,000 to get their cars back on the road.

The supermarket said the problem was believed to have been confined to its Branksome filling station, and none of its other garages are believed to have been affected.

Initially it was thought the problem was isolated to one tanker of fuel that had been delivered to the garage.

The Tesco spokesman said until further tests were carried out the firm could not comment on the cause of the problem.

He added: "Our priority is dealing with customers who have been affected. We have responded to all customers who have made a complaint and are dealing with each case as quickly as we can."

Any motorists who believe they have been affected can call Tesco's customer services team on 0800 505555.