Crimestoppers
Fearless
Help prevent fuel theft
The theft of fuel - petrol, diesel and heating oil being stolen from vehicles and fuel tanks - causes harm and can have very serious consequences.
Fuel theft can be a daily issue in some areas - for instance in rural communites, where nearly half of farmers say that fuel theft is the rural crime they are most concerned about.
Criminals can drain a 1,000-litre fuel tank in a matter of minutes, and typically target farms in remote rural locations during the winter months to take advantage of shorter daylight hours. This causes acute financial pressure, as fuel tanks can cost thousands of pounds to refill, especially given the current high cost of all fuel.
What you can do to reduce the chance of being targeted:
- Keep tanks stored close to the property where you can see them. If this isn't possible, you should consider installing CCTV to watch over isolated tanks and restrict access with walls, fences and hedges. Security lighting such as 'dusk till dawn' or motion detection lighting can also be an effective deterrent to thieves.
- Remember to check the oil level in your tank regularly. Look for any spilt fuel, marks on the locks or anything else suspicious.
- Try to avoid installing a storage tank in an isolated area or outlying building.
- Invest in high-quality locks, locking fuel caps and anti-siphoning deterrents, as organised criminals are likely to come equipped to cut through basic locks.
- Have you considered using a mobile bowser (tanker) kept in a secure place when not in use?
- Use 'diesel dye, making your diesel traceable and less attractive to thieves.
- Useful advice from the Countryside Alliance.
Commercial vehicles are often seen as prime targets for fuel thefts because of the volume of fuel in their fuel tanks, and because these types of vehicles are often parked in insecure laybys on busy dual carriageways, with fuel stolen whilst the drivers are asleep within their vehicles.
The criminals often steal with little consideration for the damage and leakage of fuel that can be caused once they have left. As wll as the cost of the stolen fuel. vehicle fuel caps, tanks and fuel lines are sometimes damaged, and often drivers of the targeted vehicles are threatened with violence or assaulted when thieves try to steal the fuel.
There is also the implication of fuel spillage, which when not handled correctly, becomes a fire hazard - and this may be experienced by a lorry driver or the thief. If a fire happens, the theft of fuel becomes so much more.
Prevent it from happening to you:
- Locking fuel caps and anti-siphoning deterrents can make vehicles less vulnerable.
- Any drivers noticing people loitering near vehicles should note the time, date, and location, as well as the descriptions of the people.
- Adopt defensive parking measures, such as parking in highly visible, well-lit areas, or using off-road parking areas such as secure compounds or lorry parks.
- Park vehicles so that fuel tanks are as inaccessible as possible.
- Don't make it easy for the thieves - make sure that compounds don't contain items that may help a thief intending to steal from your vehicles. Objects that could be used for climbing perimeter fencing shouldn't be left lying around.
