A Suffolk forecourt that has been targeted by a serial drive-off offender has released a CCTV image of the man and his car.
The latest incident at Underwoods Sudbury happened on Tuesday, September 26.
A director of the business, who asked not to be named, told Forecourt Trader: “We have a security system which recognises numberplates but this man changed the plates. If you look closely at the image you can see black tape used to change the letters and numbers.
“He came in and not only filled his tank, but he also filled cans he had in his boot. In total he stole £120-worth of diesel. And we know this is deliberate because he came on the forecourt with a cap on and his head down and took as much fuel as he could.”
CCTV images show that the man, driving a Volkswagen Touran, pulled up alongside one of the diesel pumps at approximately 12.45pm. He is described as a heavy-set white man, aged between 25 and 40, and was wearing a dark-coloured baseball cap and a black ‘Jack & Jones’ t-shirt.
Police told Underwoods that the number plate did not belong to the Touran but rather to a similar car and that it had been used to steal fuel all over Norfolk and Suffolk.
Underwoods was so enraged about the theft that it also put the CCTV image up outside the shop in the hope that someone recognises the thief.
The director at the company said shop theft was also a problem. “In a recent incident, staff thought someone in the shop was acting suspiciously and when we reviewed the CCTV we saw that they had put alcohol in their backpack. We put a photo of them up at the till and a customer recognised the thief and gave us their name. We passed this onto the police but nothing happened.”
However, anybody with information about the fuel theft is asked to contact police on 101, quoting the crime reference number 37/56516/23.
