News

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has called for hauliers to be on their guard following the recent theft of almost £10,000-worth of fuel in Cambridgeshire. Thieves broke in through the gate at Heathcliff Haulage in Wisbech, and siphoned 450 litres of fuel, worth £3,200, from the tanks of 26 trucks between 12.30pm on 23 September and 3am on 24 September.

Just four weeks earlier, £5,000 of diesel was taken from the haulage yard's static tank. Martin Dean, RHA southern and eastern region  area manager, says: "Firms really need to be on their guard against this problem. As well as businesses looking at stepping-up their security and looking at the option of fitting fuel anti-theft devices to trucks, there should be greater national provision of truck-stops.

"The problem has also been made worse by the closing of lay-bys on trunk roads. "Vehicles need to be left in secure locations, but the facilities to do this are reducing by the month." Heath Noel-Storr, managing director of Heathcliff Haulage, says his firm has now fitted more CCTV cameras and employed a team of security guards.

He adds: "Thefts from tanks have always happened, but never on this scale."

Dean says: "Diesel is now £1/litre, and thefts could spell disaster for small companies."