Free fuel giveaway by EA causes chaos

I see Electronic Arts has come under fire today for a stunt to promote their new game Mercenaries 2.

£20,000-worth of fuel was being given away free of charge at the Last Stop garage in Finsbury Park, north London, to promote the game Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.

But by 7.30am a huge queue of 150 cars was causing traffic chaos in the area with security staff brought in to tackle unruly motorists annoyed at the delays.

People could fill up with up to £40 worth of fuel - Louise Marchant, from Electronic Arts, said the scenes of queuing mimicked aspects of the game.

She explained: "It's set in Venezuela, you play a mercenary and fuel is used as a currency." She denied the promotion was irresponsible, saying: "We've got security on hand."

Below - the scenes today in London:

Well it certainly had the desired effect in terms of publicity didn't it?

Below: petrol pump attendant Lizzie Jay-Hughes *must resist making the obvious sexist joke*.