W203 brake pipe question

[Orchid1]

Currently having some woes with my 2004 W203. Went in for MOT yesterday morning which it failed on a broken spring, drop link and corroded brake pipe at the rear. The spring and droplink have been fixed but apparently the fuel tank has had to be dropped to put the new brake pipe in but I can't see anywhere online that removing the fuel tank would be required. So an MOT has now turned into a very expensive three day escapade.

Has this ever happened to anyone else?