Carmaking giant BMW is recalling hundreds of thousands of vehicles amid safety fears.

An investigation by BBC's Watchdog found that an electrical fault has caused some vehicles to cut out while being driven.

The German manufacturer is now recalling 312,000 vehicles in the UK, the Daily Post reports.

Which vehicles are being recalled?

BMW 1 Series, the 3 Series, the Z4 and its X1 petrol and diesel models made between March 2007 and August 2011.

BMW initially recalled 36,410 petrol cars last year over safety issues.

It said it now recognised there may have been similar problems in cars not covered by the first recall.

The manufacturer will contact owners of the affected models in the next three weeks, a spokesman has said.