AN investigation has been launched after a customer raised concerns about a Colchester petrol station.

Motorist Alan Munson said he noticed some pumps had the wrong coloured hoses for the type of fuel at the BP station, in Mersea Road.

He also claimed some pump hoses were coated in coloured tape for apparent patchwork repairs and metal unions joining the hoses to the pumps were badly corroded.

Mr Munson, 48, of West Mersea, said he feared customers might be confused and end up filling vehicles with the wrong fuel.

Mr Munson said: “A staff member said they had voiced concerns to their managers and a team came to the site, took loads of photos and then advised that there was a need to make improvements.”

He said he was angry BP was sponsoring the Olympics, but apparently not spending enough on maintenance and upkeep of its facilities.

A BP spokesman said the garage was run by a franchisee.

He said: “We take these issues extremely seriously, with the safety of customers, staff and the site our top priority.

“Our sites have a daily checklist to complete which should highlight any brand and/or maintenance issues that need addressing.

“In addition, the site gets a monthly planned or proactive maintenance visit and the area manager undertakes a standards assessment.

“We have recently undertaken a number of works to improve things at this site and will continue to ensure the site meets the required standards.”

He said there was no industry standard for colour-coding hoses, but BP would be checking the site met its standards.

He said: “As a matter of urgency we will take this matter up with the franchisee and area manager to investigate the issues raised and take the appropriate action, should we find the site falls short of our high standards.”