It was a tale of the unexpected yesterday when an armoured limousine supposed to be used to convey visiting US President Barack Obama in Israel broke down in Israel after being filled with the wrong type of fuel.

Israel’s Channel 2 reports that the car had been waiting for the arrival of the entourage of the US leader when it was filled with diesel instead of petrol.

A replacement limousine had to be flown in from neighbouring Jordan, according to Maariv newspaper.

Obama, who is making his first visit to Israel since taking office, was welcomed at Ben Gurion airport, Tel Aviv, by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres.

It is believed the limousine had left the airport some two hours previously and had broken down on its way to Jerusalem where Obama was due later.

The owner of a local tow-truck company, Moti Matmon, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph that the US Consulate in Jerusalem had asked him to recover the vehicle.

“They told me that this was Obama’s car,” he was quoted as saying. “They didn’t say what had happened to it. They just said it had got stuck. Only the mechanic was there when I arrived. The driver had left in another car. The whole thing was very funny.”

Matmon said the limousine was being repaired at a garage in Jerusalem.

•Photo, courtesy 2424.co.il, shows Obama’s broken-down limousine being towed away.