Tom Highland is considering operating one of his petrol stations 24 hours, after it was broken into over the weekend – the latest in a series of more than 20 incidents in the nine years that his business has owned the site.
Highland says that the most recent break-in at Greenfield Service Station on the A505 near Royston in Hertfordshire – the hardest hit by break-ins across his three-strong forecourt estate – will cost him around £10,000.
Assailants damaged the shop’s outside shutter, glass window, two CCTV computer screens and a smoke cloak unit. He has also had to pay £600 employing security staff for two nights before the window was repaired.
Highland, managing director of the Highland Group, was alerted to the incident at 5.45am on Sunday by his alarm company. He was in London at the time after a night out with a group of fellow second and third generation forecourt operators,
CCTV footage showed how events unfolded with three assailants driving onto the site via the exit in a blue Ford Focus. Two of the men jumped out of the car, with one trying to force open the shop’s shutter, while the other used a sledgehammer to smash the window near to the cashdesk.
They entered the store via the broken window and then tried to open the shutter to the cigarette/vaping unit, before entering the office presumably to find the safe. At this point the smoke cloak took effect, and they smashed that too before leaving the premises empty handed.
Highland says that he will probably not make an insurance claim because the site – an easy target because of its rural location on a dual carriageway – demands such a large excess payment. Also he does not want to risk insurance premiums increasing in the future.
“We’ve had north of 20 incidents at this site, from our gas cage being robbed, to the front of the shop being ramraided. In a fifth of cases I’d say they haven’t managed to steal anything because of all the security we have in place.”
Having made the site as secure as possible – with CCTV, a smoke cloak, vibration plates which set off an alarm with movement, a Master Blaster klaxon, and internal and external shutters – Highland is now looking into the feasability of reducing the risk of further break-ins by employing someone to oversee the property during the night.
“It is going to be expensive, but it might be the solution,” says Highland. “With staff costs about to increase in April with higher employer National Insurance contributions and national minimum wage costs, it would cost £50,000 to £60,000 to have someone in place 24-hours. We would be lucky if we made half of that back through the increased profits from opening longer. And that is of course if we could even find someone to do the night shift.”
Highland says that while the police responded well to the incident, arriving within six minutes of it being reported, nobody has so far been arrested, and he feels that the government needs to take a tougher approach to control so-called “victimless crime”.
“Generally, this whole thing needs more backing from the government. If someone is breaking into a petrol station with a sledgehammer, the chances are that they will be involved in other types of crime too, and this type of crime is far from victimless,” he added.
“It’s heartbreaking to watch a video of people breaking and stealing your stuff,” says Highland. “A lot of people think that because it has a BP sign on the site that it is owned by an oil giant. But this cost will come straight out of my back pocket.”
