Early this morning, Leakes Road saw a massive traffic jam as cars lined up bumper-to-bumper, all eager to take advantage of a Good Friday promotion that promised free fuel on a first-come, first-served basis.
After a few hours of rapid dispensing, the free fuel supply was eventually exhausted.
In the midst of the anticipation, some drivers found themselves in a bind, with their fuel tanks running dry before reaching the pumps. One determined motorist even ended up pushing his vehicle toward the refueling station.
“You can’t get more desperate than this,” he chuckled, sharing his plight with 9News.
To his amusement, some cheerful Easter bunnies appeared on the scene, lending a hand to help him complete the final stretch to the pump.
This eye-catching event was the brainchild of entrepreneur Billy Beasley, aiming to attract attention and bring some holiday cheer to motorists.
He’s behind giveaway website RS Rewards which this week had its licence cancelled in New South Wales for failing to comply with community gaming laws.
“I mean the plan was just to help out because I know everyone is doing it tough right now with fuel prices,” Beasley told 9News.
“I never expected this. I think if we are going to do something like this again in future, we’re just going to have to be more planned.”
Police attended the scene about 7.30am to manage the flow of traffic and establish hazards.
Beasley told 9News the giveaway only lasted under an hour before officers arrived to shut it down.
“We roughly did the numbers we spent roughly $70,000+ on fuel today,” Beasley said.
“We also got about $50,000 worth of fuel cards we had our team quickly run down the road as soon as police shut everything off, we didn’t want people to leave with nothing.”
And while some went home empty handed with less fuel than they started with, there are other offers to ease the pain.
The AFL will increase its Shell Reddy Express discount from 4 cents/litre to 10 cents/litre next week ahead of Gather Round. All you need is the AFL app.
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