West Midlands Police put wrong fuel in cars more than any other police force

West Midlands Police mistakenly filled patrol cars with the wrong type of fuel more than any other force in the UK in 2017, according to new figures out today.

The Freedom of Information request by Press Association showed that nationally, the error happened almost 299 times, costing more than £50,000 to repair damaged vehicles.

West Midlands Police recorded 66 incidents last year, at a cost of £3,737.

Of the UK's 45 police forces, 40 responded and 33 admitted paying out forrepairs to a police vehicle after a misfuelling incident, with the average cost being £178 each time.

The TaxPayers' Alliance described the figures as "staggering". John O'Connell, chief executive of pressure group said:

West Midlands Police fleet manager Gary Mallett said mistakes increased after 2013 when the force moved away from internal fuel sites and fuel keys to external fuel stations in a cost-cutting exercise, and that the force had addressed the issue 'by notifying users and local vehicle leads of the volume and cost of the mistake'. He added that labelling vehicles with the fuel type to be used also helped to tackle the problem. The strategies resulted in a 53% reduction in the number of misfuels and a 90% reduction in cost of repairs, he said.

A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs' Council said incidences were rare considering the thousands of vehicles across the forces, but acknowledged that some forces already using electronic systems had eradicated misfuelling completely. He said similar technological improvements would be implemented nationally where it is 'deemed to represent best value for money.'

City of London, Durham, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Lincolnshire,Nottinghamshire and Dyfed-Powys did not misfuel any cars.