Bosses at BP have confirmed the contaminated pump, at the garage in London Road, has been closed and an investigation is underway to prevent further incident.
Benfleet recovery firm Fuel Out claimed it has been called to 30 incidents where drivers have broken down, or been unable to start their car, this week after buying petrol from the garage.
The garage initially closed on Tuesday as a result before re-opening on Wednesday with the pump out of use.
Owner of Fuel Out, Lee Pretlove, has said that the contaminated fuel resulted in their busiest period in years.
Recovery – Lee Pretlove (Image: Lee Pretlove)
He said: “This does not happen frequently, and it is very rare but we are still doing jobs around this on Thursday, it has been three days solid.
“We never see this many at all, the technicians pass jobs on to us and we have had loads of calls, we have been inundated.”
Lee added that most of the jobs they have been called to have been because cars have broken down as a result of what he believes to be water contamination with petrol.
He said: “It is reversible and is a case of draining them out, a lot of these cars will need new spark plugs as this is damaging certain plugs and fuel filters.
“Some are taking their cars to garages and getting massive bills without knowing what is wrong with their vehicle.
“It has been crazy; I haven’t seen something like this for ages as there was a similar incident in Wickford three years before this.”
Lee has speculated that the number of people who were impacted is likely around 100, as other services like the AA and RAC are also being called to repairs for the same reasons.
A BP spokesman said: “We have identified an issue at the site with a potentially contaminated tank, which is currently under investigation.
“The affected tank in question has been isolated and the site is now open and operational.
“We are taking steps to assess the potential impact and determine the number of people who may be affected.
“Any customers with concerns should contact our careline for support careline@bp.com.”