RAC tells motorists to stop 'pushing their luck' as crime jumps 50 per cent

Motorists are being urged to ensure they pay for their petrol and diesel as new statistics reveal a significant surge in fuel thefts over the past year.

Fresh data, sourced by the RAC Foundation, a motoring research charity, indicates that bilking - the act of filling up your vehicle at a petrol station and then driving away without paying - has risen from 44,631 instances between February and April last year to 66,378 during the same period this year.

This represents a 49 per cent increase, with the spike attributed to repeat offenders "pushing their luck" and gaining confidence from the perception that police forces are too stretched elsewhere to focus on this issue.

The figures are based on the number of requests made to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for vehicle owner information in relation to fuel theft. Petrol station owners, already grappling with current economic instability, have made desperate attempts to track down culprits in numerous cases.

A recent probe by industry publication Forecourt Trader discovered that £6.6 million worth of fuel was stolen from the end of 2019 to the end of 2024. This is founded on data provided by 33 UK police forces in response to freedom of information requests.

Commenting on the recent study, RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding remarked: "It would be tempting to suspect that the cost of living crisis is pushing normally law-abiding people into committing this type of offence, but that would be an insult to the vast majority of people who continue to obey the law whatever their circumstances.

"Repeat criminals might well be pushing their luck more than ever because they believe other pressures on the police are such that they'll get away with it."

Mr Gooding went on to say: "Drive-offs might be seen as relatively low-level crimes in the grand scheme of things but they are corrosive to society, damaging to businesses and ultimately push up pump prices for law-abiding motorists and riders.

"More is being done to prevent these crimes through adoption of better surveillance systems and pay-at-pump options, but the numbers suggest the problem has been getting worse, with tens of thousands of drive-away fuel thefts each year.

"Those tempted to refuel without paying need to feel there is a real threat of being caught and punished."

Drivers who are found guilty of making off without payment face a maximum penalty of two years in prison, and/or an uncapped fine.

The Crime and Policing Bill, presently under consideration in the House of Commons, suggests abolishing the existing law that typically handles thefts of goods worth up to £200 in a magistrates' court, rather than allowing for the case to be heard in either a magistrates' court or crown court.

This change would result in a maximum sentence of seven years, irrespective of the value of the stolen goods.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the current legislation creates a perception among offenders that they can commit shop theft of goods valued at £200 or less with impunity.