England cricket hero Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has revealed he filled his car up with the wrong fuel.

The all-rounder, who is currently taking part in the final Ashes Test, put petrol in his diesel Volkswagen Touareg.

Speaking exclusively to Auto Trader, Flintoff said: “I’m a shocking driver.

“I’ve had lots of minor scrapes in the past but the worst was when I filled up my Volkswagen Touareg with petrol instead of diesel.

“I broke down in rush hour.”

Flintoff joins Wayne Rooney in the ‘I’m an England icon who put petrol in their diesel 4x4’ group following the Manchester United star’s mistake at a filling station last year.

Around 400 people fill their cars up with the wrong fuel every day – a faux pas which can lead to a repair bill of up to £6,000.

The 31 year-old, who retires from test match cricket after the Ashes, passed his driving test third time round and got his hands on a Fiat Uno.

He counts a Rover among his worst cars.

“It was a purple cabriolet, the first car I was given by Lancashire County Cricket Club”.

Freddie now drives round in a Volkwagen California campervan and VW’s flagship, the Phaeton luxury saloon.

“Power and comfort when driving are the most important things to me with the Phaeton delivering both.”
 
Flintoff, who also loves motorbikes, was speaking to Auto Trader alongside Australian legend Shane Warne ahead of the start of today’s crunch Fifth Ashes Test at the Oval.

Gallery: Volkswagen Golf GTi

Warnie, like Freddie, passed his driving test third time round and has owned a range of flash cars over the years including a Ferrari F355 Spider and Ferrari 360.

England’s favourite pantomime villain said: “My worst car was a Peugeot 508 nicknamed ‘The Green Bogie’ but my favourite is my Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera.”

He also recounted a driving story involving current Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

“I was driving at about 40mph with Ricky in the passenger seat drinking a Slush Puppy when we were going through a crossroads.

“Just as he went to take a slurp a woman jumped a red light and came crashing into the side of us, carrying on through to the hedge the other side.

“In shock, Ricky tipped his entire Slush Puppy over his pants.”

As England look to win the Fifth Test and reclaim The Ashes, Flintoff and Warne disagree with each others’ verdicts with the pair both supporting their own nations.

One thing they do agree on is the identity of world cricket’s biggest motoring poser.

 “Kevin Pietersen”, the pair said at the same time. 

Andrew Flintoff and Shane Warne are ambassadors for Volkswagen