Heating oil tank locks can help prevent thieves syphoning oil. Thefts of heating oil tanks have spiked in rural areas of the UK. (image: cusworth.net)
Organized criminal groups are tailing heating oil delivery trucks and casing rural British properties before returning at night to steal the “liquid gold”.
A spike in the price of fuel oil across the UK has contributed to a 500 percent increase in the number of Welsh heating oil thefts in the last five years, the BBC reports. There is now the equivalent of one heating oil theft every day. The numbers jumped from 68 in 2007 to 364 last year, according to statistics released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Insurance specialists say the rise in heating oil thefts is closely linked to the commodity’s volatile price. When prices spike, heating oil becomes more attractive to criminals. Heating oil thefts are much more common in the UK than here in the US, though instances of American thieves targeting the fuel have increased in recent years as prices climbed.
The cost of oil has risen sharply in the UK this winter, when temperatures plummeted to 30-year lows. Nicola Whittaker, rural affairs specialist from insurance firm NFU Mutual, said there had been a noticeable increase in claims from farmers and rural homeowners.
Just before Christmas, a Welsh property near Welshpool was hit. One-thousand litres (264 gallons) of heating oil worth £700 ($1100) was siphoned from a tank. Many rural homes rely on heating oil because they are not connected to gas mains supply. Their tanks are often visible and accessible from roads for ease of delivery, making them more susceptible to thieves.
“It did really start to increase towards the end of 2010 because the price of oil increased by about 70 percent,” Whittaker said. “That trend continued into 2011. We were seeing a lot of oil going missing from farms and homes in rural areas.”
While more businesses were generally targeted in oil thefts across the UK, homes were more likely to be hit in Wales.
“Heating oil is a lucrative commodity for thieves when the market value peaks; as such we are advising people to treat their supply like liquid gold.”
Most of the crimes are thought to be carried out by organised criminal gangs, who check out properties in advance, sometimes following delivery tankers to identify targets, then return at night to steal the oil.
Police Tips To Prevent Heating Oil Thefts:
* Fit a secure tank lock.
* Check oil levels frequently.
* Arrange smaller but more frequent oil deliveries.
* Install movement sensor security lighting around the tank.
* Screen tank from view with shrubs or fencing.
* Install lockable access gates, and erect lockable fencing.
* Fit an alarm system which warns if oil levels drops suddenly.
* Be vigilant following a delivery.
