Oil thefts leave south Cumbrian homes in the cold (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Oil thefts leave south Cumbrian homes in the cold

5:16pm Wednesday 15th February 2012 in News By Rachel Ryan

THOUSANDS of litres of diesel and heating oil have been stolen from tanks in 13 separate raids in south Cumbria.

Thieves have siphoned-off diesel from vehicles and heating oil tanks worth more than £3,500 in the past month.

Rural and isolated areas have been targetted by thieves, who police say are travelling in from other areas, leaving victims stranded, frustrated and out of pocket.

Cumbria police believe the ‘professional thieves’ come to the area well-equipped, and use vehicles carrying small containers or vans that have had their interiors adapted to store large quantities of oil.

Officers say the culprits drive around during the day to pick-out their targets, before returning at night to drain the tanks. It takes on average 15 minutes to empty a 500-litre tank.

Properties in Bowness, Arnside, Milnthorpe, Broughton and Sawrey have all been hit since January 3 as well as Crooklands, where resident Mel Lofty lost his whole winter fuel supply to the thieves. He was without heat for five days.

He said: “The loss of the oil meant we had no heating or hot water for five days over a very cold weekend.

“We had our five-year-old grandchild here and we had to rely on friends and neighbours to keep warm. And because there was no oil in the boiler, the boiler broke and we had to have it replaced.

“It is not just theft that causes a problem, it is the additional trauma as I worry about it happening again and it has made me feel insecure.”

He said the thieves had done their research to find his well-hidden tank and said they had been ‘cunning’ and had not taken all of his fuel so he did not notice his loss immediately.

“This was not an opportunist crime – they knew where they were going and what they were doing,” he said. “People should not think that because their tank is well-hidden and out of view that they are immune.”

Terry Belshaw, Kendal crime prevention officer, said oil thefts occurred every year and added: “When the price of things goes up it becomes more attractive to theives and that is what is happening here.

“The thieves come prepared to steal and run well-oiled operations.”

He urged residents to check fuel supplies on a regular basis; put tanks in view of a house, link tanks to a house alarm and putt locks on tanks.

For free crime prevention advice call 01539-818787.