Make them pay the price

11:01am Tuesday 15th July 2008

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IT’S a sign of the times that recent big rises in fuel prices have been followed by an increase in thefts of petrol and diesel.

Farmers and businesses with storage tanks now find themselves being targeted by the sort of criminals who have been more used to carrying out other kinds of robberies.

And as Samlesbury farmer Eddie Cowpe discovered, when a tap was left running on a 10,000-litre diesel tank last month, the cost of damage done by botched raids can easily come out much higher than the value of the fuel stolen.

Owners of cars and commercial vehicles can also easily face much bigger bills and physical danger because when thieves siphon off fuel, they leave clouds of potentially explosive petrol fumes behind.

Locking fuel caps are an obvious first step towards deterring theft but beyond that there isn’t an awful lot motorists can do.

But police and the courts can take action to reduce such thefts by ensuring that offenders are tracked down and meaningfully punished.

And at the same time, HM Revenue and Customs can do more to prosecute the cheats who fund their private cars illegally on tax-free red diesel which is currently around 89p a litre.