Worst Affected Areas of Heating Oil Theft

Oil prices have been fluctuating a great deal in 2013, but unfortunately heating oil theft has stayed at a high rate and becoming increasingly common in certain areas of the UK.

Some of the worst affected areas have been in rural areas around Swindon, Gloucestershire, Sussex, Hampshire, Montgomeryshire, Devon and Cornwall and Essex. In Essex in particular, over 61 homes have been raided in 2013 and around £27,964 of heating oil was reported stolen by thieves using drill tanks or sophisticated equipment.

These thefts have left multiple residents without any heating oil and police are upping their security measures as a response, alongside advising residents to increase their security on and in the vicinity of the tanks, such as padlocks or fencing.

Wealden District Commander chief inespector Dick Coates advised "The location of oil tanks can be a critical factor. Ideally they should be situated within sight of your home, but not visible from the road. If tanks are visible, plant hostile (thorny) shrubs around your tank so thieves will think twice before forcing their way through a prickly hedge” (note, these should be a minimum of 760mm away as per the oil storage reulations).

For more information on security for your oil tank visit our Oil Tank Security page.