A MOTORIST claims he was made to feel like a criminal after an error in a high-tech petrol station system barred him from buying fuel.

William Maynard's attempts to fill his Vauxhall Zafira with petrol at Blackburn's Asda Supermarket at Grimshaw Park, were thwarted when a camera recognised his registration plate.

When Mr Maynard, 55, inquired at the kiosk he was told he had previously left without paying but when the computer system was checked it showed he was a regular customer who had always paid.

Bosses at Asda said they were writing to Mr Maynard to apologise and have offered him a £20 gift card as a goodwill gesture but he claims he has been given no guarantee it won't happen again.

Mr Maynard, of Havelock Close, Blackburn, said: "I had just been shopping as normal then went to get my petrol.

"When nothing happened I was told that my car registration was barred.

"When I asked what was the reason they said I owed them money.

"When they checked properly they found it was a mistake but I was there for an hour and it was very embarrassing as a lot of people were in the kiosk at the time. It was made to feel like a criminal.

"If it has happened to me it can happen to other people and I just want people to be warned."

Dominic Burch, a spokesman for Asda, said: "This system has been in place for six months at that particular Asda and some places have had the system in place for three years and this is the first incident I have heard of.

"Either the system for some reason has read his registration plate wrong and could have identified a wrong letter or number, which is highly unlikely, or an operator has manually input a wrong registration number when someone has driven off without paying, which is more probable.

"We will be keeping a close eye on the system and the likelihood of it happening again is very slim.

"We will be making sure everyone on site is extra vigilant when inputting the registration plate.

"

Mr Maynard, a father-of-three, said: "It is not about money.

"I am just mad with the amount of time I had to wait before this problem could be sorted out.

"It was highly embarrassing and I hope it does not happen to anyone else."