A pensioner left "terrified" when a Tesco car wash malfunctioned with him inside was initially told he would have to pay for the damage.

Terry Flanagan, who lives in Minster on Sheppey, was in his Opel at the Sheerness branch when one of the cleaning arms fell off during the cycle and began scraping at his bumper.

The 74-year-old said: "The brush was rotating and about halfway through I heard a loud bang.

"One of the side arms fell off and hit the front of my car.

"It terrified me. I jumped out straight away even though the remaining brushes were still going round. I was worried for my safety."

The car wash was closed off after the incident, on February 3, while an investigation took place with the store and car wash operators Wilcomatic.

The Scrapsgate Road resident said the manager from Tesco came over and took details and photos, but the company investigating the incident, Sopp+Sopp, closed the case, saying Tesco was not liable for the damage.

Terry received a letter on February 21 which read: "After investigating the matter with the car wash maintenance company and the store, we have concluded the car wash was fully functional at the time, with no additional complaints of this type received.

"In addition to this, all Tesco car washes have a notice at the entrance which states that we cannot accept any liability for any damage caused during use, unless the car wash is faulty.

"We have confirmed with the store that this notice was present and intact."

Terry said: "I tried to put it to them, that how can they say it's not faulty when a part fell on my car? I've even provided them with pictures to prove it."

But on Monday, the great-grandfather-of-three was told via email that his case had been rejected.

After speaking to KentOnline, Tesco has now contacted Mr Flanagan to offer to repair his car as a gesture of goodwill.

The Navy veteran and retired driving instructor continued: "My insurance is quite high and my car is old so it will probably cost what the car's worth just to fix it.

"It might not be worth a lot but I've spent a lot of money on keeping it up, I just spent about £600 fixing the engine."

Terry said he "doesn't want to lose his car" as it is one of the only vehicles comfortable enough for himself and wife Anita, 78, to get in and out of.

He added: "This is causing me so much distress. I accept it was an accident, but it was their fault, so I shouldn't have to pay for the repairs."

A Tesco spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear about this and have been in touch with the customer to apologise and offer a gesture of goodwill.”