Apparently more at ease with patrol than petrol, blundering London police officers filled up their vehicles with the wrong fuel 150 times last year, the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) said on Tuesday.
The gaffes were revealed in its latest figures on driving safety.
The mistakes could have cost Scotland Yard thousands of pounds each time, as the engines need to be drained and key parts often need replacing.
A spokesperson for the Automobile Association Motoring Trust, which provides advice and research, said misfuelling is a common and often very costly error.
He said: “It’s down to the person who puts the fuel in to concentrate for a few minutes.”
The MPA’s Safer Driver report also says the number of “driving incidents” — including collisions — fell by 5,9% to 5 681 in 2005/06.
However, “blameworthy” collisions and other incidents rose by 1,5% and made up about 43% of the total. — AFP