Police are urging members of the public and businesses to be conscious of the security of their fuel after 33 incidents of the theft or attempted theft have been reported across the county since the turn of the year.
Thieves have targeted heating oil from garden tanks in rural communities with some victims reporting the theft of more than a 1,000 litres in one go. Other incidents have included the theft of red diesel from farm machinery and even the theft of an entire fuel bowser containing 1,000 litres of gas oil from a building site in Swindon.
Detective Sergeant Jo Clement from the police crime management unit told Marlborough News Online: “Although not in the news of late the price of fuel remains high and a valuable target for thieves.
“Many heating oil users stock up for winter which is why we often see a spike at this time of year and the very setup of Wiltshire as a primarily rural county makes us prone to this type of crime.”
