A HALTON MEP is urging European officials to help motorists by fitting new nozzles on petrol caps to stop people making the embarrassing mistake of using the wrong fuel at petrol stations.

Liberal Democrat Chris Davies is calling for better warnings and physical changes to petrol station fuel pumps, after a staggering 14,000 people in the North West made the expensive mistake of putting petrol in diesel vehicles and vice versa.

According to the AA, an estimated average of £80-£300 has been spent by each motorist in the region as a result of the problem. Mr Davies claims changes are needed to eliminate the problem.

He said: 'Thousands of people across Europe make this mistake every day. We all drive the same cars and use fuel sold by the same oil companies so we need EU coordination to sort this out.'

Erkki Liikanen, European Enterprise Commissioner, has agreed to take steps to reduce the confusion.

Replying to a parliamentary question, he has told Mr Davies that the commission will consult manufacturers of both vehicles and fuel pumps to identify practical solutions to the problem.

Possible solutions include introducing different shaped nozzles at pumps, audio warnings and clearer markings - but the difficulty has been getting all interest groups to agree on what action should be taken and who should meet the costs.

Mr Davies' answer to the problem which would be the 'most effective and simplest solution' would be installing a metal flap on the nozzle that must be lifted before the pump can be used.

He said: 'I think the deterrent will be 99% effective. Oil companies all stress that they are colour coding their petrol and diesel pumps to reduce misfuelling, but this won't be sufficient when drivers are distracted and simply grab the first pump without thinking.

'The metal flap provides an answer to the problem which I hope will be swiftly adopted everywhere.'

The AA advises those who do misfuel their car not to start the engine, or to switch off as soon as possible. Contaminated fuel must be drained by a garage using authorised equipment and with approved disposal facilities.