Almost £200,000 worth of fuel has been stolen from petrol stations across the UK every day since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, fresh data shows.
Analysis from Forecourt Eye suggested that incidents of fuel being taken without a motorist paying have jumped by 20 per cent in the five months since the start of the Iran war, compared to the previous five months.
Petrol and diesel prices have soared across the UK since the end of February, when the United States and Iran began exchanging missile attacks following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader.
At present, drivers are paying an average of 159.97p per litre for petrol, marking a new high since the start of the Iran war, while also being the highest price since November 2022.
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RAC Fuel Watch estimates that petrol and diesel prices are likely to rise in the coming days and weeks, with diesel climbing to 178.97p.
Forecourt Eye said the value of stolen fuel has jumped by 48 per cent between February and July to an estimated daily average of £194,000 across the UK.
A spike in first-time offenders was also seen, with a 23 per cent increase in the number of incidents, compared to 17 per cent among repeat offenders.
Similarly, first-time offenders were responsible for a 26 per cent rise in the volume of fuel stolen, while repeat offenders accounted for 20 per cent.
Offences include drive-offs, when there is no attempt to pay, and no means of payment incidents, which occurs when a customer fills up and claims they have no way to pay.
Michelle Henchoz, managing director of Forecourt Eye, called for more to be done to protect petrol stations from soaring fuel theft rates.
She said: “As offending becomes more organised and more sophisticated, operators need joined-up technology that helps them protect both their forecourt and their convenience store.”
Forecourt Eye is partnering with Facewatch to offer free access to crime reporting technology to petrol stations across the UK.
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It stated that this will make it easier for forecourts to record fuel thefts, shop crime and other illegal incidents that could take place.
Forecourts will also have the option of joining a live facial recognition network operated by Facewatch to identify known offenders.
Ben Lawrence, who owns five petrol stations across Norfolk and Hampshire, said the cost of living crisis has pushed some people to steal fuel.
“It does matter to us. When someone drives off (after taking fuel worth) £80-£90, it’s hitting us, not the oil companies. We’ve already purchased it,” he added.
Mr Lawrence noted that there was a “misconception” that every forecourt with a BP or Shell sign is operated by those companies, rather than small businesses.
Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association, said its members were also facing increased levels of abuse during times of high prices.
He explained that drivers were being aggressive to shop workers, despite them having no control over the price displayed on the forecourt.
“Bringing together technologies that help retailers prevent crime, manage incidents and support police investigations is a positive step for the industry,” Mr Balmer noted.
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