Police had to stop a forecourt pumping out free fuel to motorists earlier this week after it created traffic chaos.

Hundreds of drivers queued from 7.30am on Monday to get their hands on £20-worth of free fuel at the Jet site in Chipping Norton.

The free fuel was part of tyre maker Goodyear’s launch campaign to promote its environmentally friendly EfficientGrip tyres. The company teamed up with five forecourts across England to give motorists a free £20 top-up of unleaded or diesel fuel.

Goodyear had apparently put aside about £12,000-worth of fuel at Chipping Norton and approximately 600 drivers were expected to benefit from the offer between 7.30-9.30am and 5-7pm.

But at 5.30pm, managers called off the giveaway after complaints from residents about the “overwhelming” numbers of cars trying to get into the garage.

Locals said drivers were not allowed to queue to get into the forecourt, but instead were being asked to keep driving up and down the road until a space became available.

PC Michael Anderton, based at Chipping Norton, told the Oxford Mail: “We received many complaints from residents about the traffic. After a friendly discussion with the promotion organisers the fuel giveaway stopped, which remedied the situation.”