Drivers stealing almost £200k worth of fuel every day since start of Middle East crisis, report reveals
An increase in the levels of abuse and aggression towards petrol station workers has also been reported
Almost £200,000 worth of fuel has been stolen from UK forecourts every day since the start of the Middle East crisis.
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Fuel theft prevention company Forecourt Eye said incidents of fuel taken without payment soared by 20% in the five months after the conflict began in February, compared with the preceding five months.
The increase in prices driven by the war means the value of stolen fuel rose by 48% over the same period, reaching an estimated daily average of £194,000 across the UK’s 8,359 forecourts.
For first-time offenders, there was a 23% increase in the number of incidents and a 26% rise in the volume of fuel stolen, compared with 17% and 20% respectively among repeat offenders.
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The figures are based on reports by a representative sample of 550 forecourts which includes drive-offs, when there is no attempt to pay, and no means of payment incidents, when a customer fills up and claims they have no way to pay.
Forecourt Eye is partnering with Facewatch to offer free access to crime reporting technology to its customers, which it said will make it easier to record fuel thefts, shop crime and other illegal incidents.
Users will also have the option of joining a live facial recognition network run by Facewatch to alert them to known offenders.
Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents independent forecourts, said its members are "reporting increasing levels of abuse and aggression towards colleagues who are simply doing their jobs and have no influence over the price displayed on the forecourt".
Mr Balmer added: "Bringing together technologies that help retailers prevent crime, manage incidents and support police investigations is a positive step for the industry."
It comes after Chancellor John Healey said he would be "watching closely" to protect the public from price gouging at the petrol pump.
He said: "We'll be watching closely for any suggestions that customers are being taken for a ride at the pump or the till.
"Companies' willingness to work with the government throughout this crisis has been positive, and there has been no significant evidence of so-called price gouging, but I want to be blunt in reassuring the public that our regulators have the powers to clamp down on it if it happens."