The Shell service station on Doveton Street North was forced to close off two of its bowsers on Thursday after a diesel tank was found to have been contaminated.  

The service station, which is owned by the Ballarat Taxis Co-Operative, became aware of the contamination after four motorists reported problems with their vehicles after filling up at the stop. 

All four of the cars were private vehicles rather than taxis and the cost of the damage is still being calculated. 

Ballarat Taxis Co-Operative chairman Stephen Armstrong said the bowsers will remained closed until they are given the all-clear by Shell. 

“As soon as we found out (something was wrong) we decided to shut the bowsers down,” Mr Armstrong said. 

“We had a couple of people come in and say their cars were running really rough and when we took a sample it looked fine but when we got the fourth one we decided to shut it off.” 

The remaining bowsers are all still operating as normal.  Mr Armstrong confirmed the service station would cover the cost of any damage done to vehicles from the fuel.

Caltex is also investigating another incident where a diesel vehicle was forced off the road after being filled with contaminated fuel. 

“While we do not yet have enough information to indicate the tank in question contained any contaminated fuel, we will continue to investigate the matter,” a Caltex Australia spokesperson said.

Four separate mechanics confirmed with The Courier they had dealt with vehicles suffering from contaminated fuel since Thursday last week.  

One mechanic was dealing with as many as six vehicles which had all been filled with contaminated fuel.   

Motorists who believe they may have filled up with contaminated fuel are encouraged to log the date, time and location of where the fuel was last purchased and to keep a copy of the receipt. 

Motorists should also ensure they get a qualified mechanic to make a report of any damage done to the vehicle and to take a sample of fuel from the tank. 

If it can be proven that contaminated fuel has damaged a vehicle motorists should be reimbursed and can contact Consumer Affairs Victoria if they are unsatisfied.