A BID for a disused former Inverclyde petrol station has run out of gas, the Tele can reveal.

Developers had been set to snap up the former Bogston filling station but the deal has fallen through and the property has now been put back on the market.

In January, the Tele told how an out-of-town developer had made a bid and that talks were at an advanced stage.

But the talks with the owners, Inverclyde Council, have now collapsed.

The local authority has put the property back up for sale and set a deadline of Friday 18 July at noon for fresh offers.

Bosses had accepted a bid ‘in principle’ earlier this year and a deal was expected to be concluded.

Now, five months later, local authority chiefs are back to square one.

A spokesman for the council said: “The initial offer selected for the site has fallen through.

“The remarketing of the sale of this site has now begun to invite new bidders.” Despite the setback, the council say they are still confident they can identify a new buyer.

The spokesman added: “The site received much interest from parties the first time round, and Inverclyde Council hopes this second chance will attract bidders to come forward with offers.” The former filling station is in a prime location just off the busy A8 main road on the border between Greenock and Port Glasgow.

It has been vacant since tenants Esso gave up their lease on the site in 2006.

A major clear-up operation took place in 2013 after years of neglect left it an unsightly mess and overgrown with trees and bushes.

After the tidy-up it was then put on the market.

Council bosses billed the prime plot as ‘suitable for a variety of commercial uses subject to planning approvals’.

Interest in the site was welcomed by Depute Provost and Port Glasgow councillor David Wilson, who said it would be ‘perfect’ for a company in the retail sector.