Fuel thefts up 61% as UK petrol pump prices keep climbing
Fuel thefts from British filling stations have shot up by nearly two-thirds this year to record levels amid soaring prices, an industry body has said.
The Petrol Retailers Association said drive-off incidents, where a motorist fills up and makes no attempt to pay before leaving, have increased by 61% so far this year compared with the same period in 2021.
Gordon Balmer, the PRA executive director, said the number of thefts were “going through the roof”, with 10 incidents a day being reported, and predicted retailers would lose £25m if the current rate of drive-offs continued for the next 12 months.
Incidents of drivers saying they were unable to pay for fuel they had already put in their vehicle, such as by forgetting their wallet, have also increased, reaching an annual cost to the sector of £16m.
“You’re looking at nearly £41m in terms of cost to industry of fuel either being stolen through drive-offs or people haven’t got the means to pay,” Balmer said. “It’s a really difficult issue at the moment, and on the increase.”
Asked whether retailers were receiving enough support from the police, he replied: “With the pressure on the police over the last few years, many police forces have said: ‘It’s not a criminal offence, it’s a civil offence, so you need to deal with it, and if the actual value of the crime is below £100 then we won’t send anyone out to police it.’ This has been raised by myself personally with the Home Office.”
Operators said there had been a “huge increase” in verbal abuse towards forecourt staff by drivers angry at pump prices.
Darren Briggs, the chief executive of Ascona Group, which owns 59 filling stations across the UK, said: “We’re getting reports virtually every week of customers being quite abusive
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