Warning over diesel thefts

AN estate agent has warned drivers to beware of ‘dangerous’ fuel thefts.

Peter Farrow, director of Farrow & Farrow estate agents in Rawtenstall, said his works van was targeted on Burnley Road East in Waterfoot.

He only discovered the vehicle had been interfered with when it stalled at the Haslingden Bypass roundabout, after he had driven for around ten miles on Monday, November 5.

It left him stranded at the side of the road.

A review of CCTV footage revealed the van appearing to be tampered with at around 7pm the previous evening, November 4, with one man acting as ‘lookout’ for a second.

Peter, 44, said he probably lost no more than £20 worth of diesel but said as well as being bemusing and frustrating the incident was potentially dangerous both for him and for the perpetrators, one of whom even appeared to light up a cigarette while diesel is being siphoned off just yards away.

Peter said: “I didn’t realise there was an issue until the car stalled on me. It literally stalled on me going around a roundabout. It just stopped so it left me on the side of the bypass and wouldn’t start.

“It’s inconvenient. It was parked across the road from our house on Burnley Road East in Waterfoot. It happened at 7 o’clock on Sunday night.

“I drove it for about 10 miles on Monday morning before it fell apart.”

Peter said the incident seemed a lot of risk for ‘relatively little reward’.

He added: “Somebody else has posted on Facebook that somebody did the same to their Mercedes Sprinter van.

“It does seem to be a spate in the Waterfoot area. They’ve come prepared. You can see the way they’ve walked up to it in the first place.

“It’s the danger it could have caused. The fuel line is leaking immediately in front of the rear tyres so you’re at risk of skidding and not being able to stop.

“There were a lot of fireworks going off that night. Even the guy doing the lookout is smoking. They are lighting up less than 10ft away.”

Police said there have been no arrests or charges.