Fuel thefts have soared over the last two months in response to expensive petrol and diesel costs as drivers break the law to avoid paying high rates.
New data shows that instances of fuel theft have surged by 62 per cent compared to the same time last year.
The spate of crimes has risen in response to petrol and diesel prices reaching their highest levels in more than three years due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Fresh data from RAC Fuel Watch shows that drivers are paying 157.57p for petrol and 190.13p for diesel, although prices have fallen slightly over the weekend.
Research from fuel theft recovery company Pay My Fuel found that the average weekly rate of drive-offs per forecourt increased from 2.1 in March last year to 3.4 this year.
The company, which services 1,400 forecourts across the UK, said that drivers were also becoming more brazen in the amount of fuel they were trying to take without paying.
The average value of fuel stolen per incident jumped by 46 per cent over the same March-to-March period.
One forecourt owner claimed that drive-offs, which are often referred to as “bilking”, have cost him £2,000 per week across five different locations.
The UK has seen a spike in fuel theft amid high costs for petrol and diesel
|
GETTY
Ian Wolfenden, director of Pay My Fuel, warned that drive-offs have become “a lot worse” in response to the high price of petrol and diesel.
He said: “An average drive-off for one of our customers used to be £56, and now it’s gone up to £67.
“So if you consider they’re losing nearly £70 every two days, it’s not insignificant,” he told the BBC.
The company works with forecourts to instantly report the number of drive-off incidents, which can include real-time operator alarms, 100 per cent fuel-cost recovery and an automated DVLA lookup of the number plate.
The value of stolen fuel has risen this March compared to last year
|
PASimon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, suggested that drivers were seeing “light at the end of the tunnel” with falling petrol and diesel prices.
While estimates suggest that it will take weeks or months for prices to return to pre-Iran war levels, experts remain optimistic.
At the start of the Iran war, on February 28, motorists were paying an average of 132.83p per litre for unleaded and 142.38p for diesel.
Since then, prices soared to a peak of 158.31p per litre for petrol and a staggering 191.54p for diesel – some of the highest prices seen since the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Petrol and diesel prices recently soared to their highest price in more than three years | PA
Most expensive petrol prices
Main Road Garage, Boston, Lincolnshire (PE20 3SW) – 188.9p
Welcome Break Sedgemoor, Weston Super Mare, Somerset (BS24 0JL) – 185.9p
Welcome Break Membury West, Hungerford, West Berkshire (RG17 7TY) – 185.9p
Welcome Break Rotherham Forecourt, Rotherham, South Yorkshire (S60 4EQ) – 184.9p
Greenacre Garage, Chester, Cheshire (CH3 8NA) – 179.9p
Most expensive diesel prices
Cluanie Inn Hotel, Glenmoriston, Inverness (IV63 7YW) – 229.18p
EG Rivington North and South PFS, Bolton, Greater Manchester (BL6 5UZ) – 205.9p
Welcome Break Sedgemoor, Weston Super Mare, Somerset (BS24 0JL) – 205.9p
South Islay Trading Co Ltd, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay (PA42 7DF) – 204p
Tiverton Service Area, Tiverton, Devon (EX16 7HD) – 200.9p