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

Drivers have stolen an average of almost £200,000 worth of fuel from UK forecourts every day since the start of the Iran oil crisis, analysis shows.

Forecourt Eye, a fuel theft prevention company, said incidents of fuel taken without payment rose by 20% in the five months after the war started on 28 February, compared with the preceding five months.

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The increase in pump prices, driven by the conflict, means the value of stolen fuel soared by 48% over the same period, reaching an estimated daily average of £194,000 across the UK's 8,359 forecourts.

For first-time offenders, there was a 23% surge in the number of incidents and a 26% rise in the volume of fuel stolen, compared with 17% and 20% respectively among repeat offenders.

The figures are based on reports by a representative sample of 550 forecourts.

These include drive-offs, when there is no attempt to pay, and no means of payment incidents - when a customer fills up and claims they are not able to pay.

The average price of a litre of petrol rose to 160p on Friday, about 27p more than before the conflict, and representing a three-and-a-half year high.

The average price of diesel is around 37p per litre more than before the war, at 179p.

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Forecourt Eye managing director Michelle Henchoz said: "As offending becomes more organised and more sophisticated, operators need joined-up technology that helps them protect both their forecourt and their convenience store."

Forecourt Eye is partnering with Facewatch to offer free access to crime reporting technology to its customers, which it said will make it easier to record fuel thefts, shop crime and other illegal incidents.

Users will also have the option of joining a live facial recognition network run by Facewatch to alert them to known offenders.

Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents independent forecourts, said its members are "reporting increasing levels of abuse and aggression towards colleagues who are simply doing their jobs and have no influence over the price displayed on the forecourt".

He added: "Bringing together technologies that help retailers prevent crime, manage incidents and support police investigations is a positive step for the industry."

Ben Lawrence, a director at Lawrences Garages, which owns five petrol stations in Norfolk and Hampshire, said fuel thefts were historically often carried out by those involved in other crimes, but increases in the cost of living mean this is no longer the case.

He said there is a "misconception" that all forecourts featuring branding from energy giants such as BP and Shell are operated by those companies, rather than smaller firms, so some drivers believe it "doesn't matter" when they fail to pay.

(c) Sky News 2026: Almost £200,000 of fuel stolen from UK forecourts every day since start of Iran war