Energy giant Shell said it was aiming to support its Barrow petrol station to reduce the impact on the environment – after a customer complaint about the number of plastic gloves scattered by the garage.

Last Sunday, a customer noted that they had picked up 28 plastic gloves on the side of the road after they had been released from the franchise Shell garage on Abbey Road.

Concerned by the potential environmental impact, the customer notified Shell about their worries.

The customer claimed that it was a national issue as the gloves, which are used by people filling up with their vehicles, repeatedly fly out of their containers onto nearby roads and subsequently cause damage to the environment and oceans as they are made out of plastic.

In response to the customer’s complaint, Shell revealed that it had contacted the site’s manager and was looking to find a solution to the problem.

A statement from Shell said: “When the customer reached out to us about the issue, our customer operations team contacted the dealer of the site immediately to suggest that they investigate the situation and find an appropriate resolution as quickly as possible.

“We’ve also notified the Shell territory manager who helps manage the relationship with the dealer to offer support where possible.

“We have had a small number of company-owned sites that have experienced this same problem in the past and in these cases we have worked closely with the retailer to solve the issue, including replacing the forecourt bins or changing the type of forecourt gloves provided.

“We are keen to work with the dealer of this site to find a resolution to this issue.”

This is not the first time that Shell has looked to improve the environmental impact.

The company provided input to the Committee for Climate Change’s 2019 report which recommended that net zero emissions should be achieved in the UK by 2050.