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image courtesy of Deon Knox -  Ashhurst Village Voice Editor

A fuel company has saved Ashhurst's only petrol station from closure, meaning new pumps and fuel on tap from November.

Mobil told Ashhurst Service Centre owner Barry Jones he would have to come up with the $500,000 to replace dated pumps that were to be ripped out on Monday. The demand was a "financial disaster" that made continuing to operate impossible, Mr Jones said.

But standing in his busy forecourt with a smile on his face yesterday, the station owner said he would be removing all sign of Mobil branding and replacing it with that of Allied Petroleum.

He and the company had "put their heads together" after they approached him with a proposal that enabled him to continue operating profitably.

Mr Jones had "kept it pretty quiet until it was signed on the dotted line", but was now happy to make the announcement.

"Each business out here is trying to do their best for the community ... if they didn't have the support we really wouldn't have a little place at Ashhurst, it would just be a ghost town."

Mr Jones predicted the fuel remaining in the underground Mobil tanks would run out by Sunday. The tanks would then be ripped out and the process of installing replacement tanks would begin. New dispensers for the existing forecourt would be built to make it a more "user-friendly" station. Construction was due to last about seven weeks and fuel would be back on sale in mid-November.

Allied Petroleum sales and marketing manager Brett Haldane said his company was actively working against the trend of rural site closures.

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