£100m fuel thefts reach record high

THEFTS of petrol from forecourts have soared to record levels after the cost of filling the tank rocketed above £100.

Incidents involving fuel not being paid for leapt 22 per cent last month compared with the previous month and by 39 per cent since January.

The British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS), which represents a third of the UK’s 8,300 petrol stations, warned that forecourts will lose more than £100million of fuel to thieves this year. On average, the annual losses are £88million.

Petrol prices rose steeply following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, with Britain seeing a record monthly rise in June. The average pump price of unleaded last week was £1.91 a litre, and the cost of filling a 55-litre tank rose from £80.05 in January to £105.29 last week.

As for diesel, the average pump price has risen from £1.48 a litre to £1.99 this year, with the cost of filling a tank rocketing from £81.81 to £109.55.

Claire Nicholl, the executive director of BOSS, said: ‘There is no doubt that there is a link between rising fuel prices and increased incidents of forecourt fuel crime. Reported incidents have been rising steadily by around 5 per cent each month, but last month there has been a noticeable increase.’

Driving off without paying for petrol is a criminal offence, punishable with two years’ imprisonment and a fine. But declaring you have no means to pay for fuel is treated as a civil offence, with retailers having to take people to court to recover their money as a non-payment of debt.

Traditionally, 70 per cent of petrol thefts involve motorists filling their tanks and driving off without paying, but now 70 per cent of thefts involve customers who say they have no means to pay, according to BOSS.

When that happens, retailers have no choice but to get the customer to fill in a form where they make a promise to pay the debt within seven days. Industry experts said hard-up motorists were deliberately filling

up their tanks when they had no money, and then settling the debt to the forecourt when they get paid.