Almost £200,000 of fuel stolen from UK forecourts every day since Iran war began

Since the outbreak of the Iran war, UK fuel thieves have pilfered approximately £200,000 on average daily from petrol stations, according to industry analysis. The number of such incidents rose by 20% in the five months since February 28th, as reported by Forecourt Eye. The conflict disrupted oil supplies, causing wholesale prices to surge, which in turn increased the cost of fuel at the UK pump.

Forecourt Eye estimates that the value of stolen fuel has increased by 48% to an average of £194,000 per day since the war began. Petrol stations are reporting a rise in abuse, intimidation, and violence from angry customers. Based on a sample of 550 forecourts, the figures extrapolate to around 2,872 daily incidents across the UK's 8,359 forecourts.

The volume of stolen fuel increased by 24%, from an estimated 87,000 litres to 108,900 litres daily. Forecourt Eye plans to partner with facial recognition company Facewatch to offer free crime reporting technology to over 2,000 retailers. However, fuel theft cost one forecourt owner, Shailesh Parekh, around £40,000 in his last financial year, and he expects it to rise due to the current price spikes.

Forecourt owners are calling for better policing to combat fuel theft and shoplifting. The UK's new Chancellor, John Healey, vowed to act on any price gouging by retailers, but there is no significant evidence of this. Former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and some of his ministers suggested the government would step in if customers were being ripped off, leading to a row with fuel retailers who deny accusations of price gouging.