Incidents of petrol and diesel being taken without payment from UK forecourts rose 20% in the five months after the Iran conflict began on February 28, compared with the preceding five months, according to Forecourt Eye.
Because pump prices climbed during the period, the value of stolen fuel rose 48%, reaching an estimated daily average of £194,000 across the UK's 8,359 forecourts. The analysis is based on reports from a representative sample of 550 forecourts.
First-time offenders driving rise
Among first-time offenders, incidents increased 23% and the volume of fuel stolen rose 26%. Among repeat offenders, the rises were 17% and 20% respectively.
The figures include 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.
Pump prices at multi-year highs
The average price of a litre of petrol reached 160p on Friday 31 July, about 27p more than before the conflict and a three-and-a-half year high. The average price of diesel was about 37p per litre higher than prior to the war, at 179p.
Garage director points to cost of living
Ben Lawrence, a director at Lawrences Garages, which owns five petrol stations in Norfolk and Hampshire, said fuel thefts were historically often carried out by people involved in other crimes, but rises in the cost of living mean this is no longer the case.
He told the Press Association there is a "misconception" that all forecourts featuring branding from energy giants such as BP and Shell are operated by those companies, rather than smaller businesses, so some drivers believe it "doesn’t matter" when they fail to pay.
"It does matter to us," Mr Lawrence explained. "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.
Retailers warn of abuse and back new technology
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".
"Bringing together technologies that help retailers prevent crime, manage incidents and support police investigations is a positive step for the industry," he said.
Forecourt Eye has partnered with Facewatch to offer free access to crime reporting technology to its customers, which it said will make it easier to record fuel thefts 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.
