Asda delighted many motorists in West Yorkshire last week by accidentally selling petrol for just 12.9p a litre.
Long queues formed at the Asda petrol station in Rooley Lane, Bradford, on Thursday night after staff at the supermarket forecourt put the decimal point in the wrong place, setting the price of unleaded fuel at 12.9p a litre instead of £1.29 per litre on four automated card payment ‘fast lane’ pumps.
Around 50 drivers managed to take advantage of the discounted rate as word of the blunder quickly spread around the city. According to reports, some made off with a full tank of petrol for just £4, while others filled up their portable petrol cans.
The mistake went unnoticed by staff for two hours and police had to be called out to deal with the increasing traffic.
Jonathan Dixon, 25, one of the dozens of drivers who took advantage, said: “We got a tip-off from a friend. There were cars round the block, starting to jam the road up outside. In the end, some managers came and just pulled the emergency stop.”
An Asda spokesman said: “For a couple of hours some lucky customers got some petrol at the wrong price at our Rooley Lane store.”
“We’re well known for having the lowest prices in town, but clearly this was a mistake.”
