Two men, one in Carlisle the other in Newport, have been sentenced in court over multiple drive-offs.
According to the BBC, Eugene Sweeney stole fuel from the Morrisons petrol station in Carlisle, four times in 18 days. The value of each offence varied between £14.05 and £25.01, and all incidents were caught on CCTV.
Sweeney admitted four counts of making off without payment, using a mobile phone while driving and failing to attend an initial court hearing at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court.
Magistrates hit him with a £200 fine, ordered him to pay £82.39 in compensation to Morrisons and imposed six penalty points on his driving licence.
Meanwhile in Wales, Daniel Drury targeted petrol stations in Newport, Cwmbran, Ebbw Vale, Risca and Bridgend and stole petrol worth more than £800 after driving off without paying 12 times. All incidents happened between October 15, 2022, and June 8 this year.
According to the Western Telegraph he stole fuel from the Boxer on Ponthir Road and Malpas service stations in Newport, Shell on Henllys Way, Cwmbran, the Festival Service Station in Ebbw Vale and Applegreen, Bridgend.
Drury admitted 12 counts of making off without payment as well as 10 counts of fraud by giving false details to obtain fuel. He had a previous conviction for similar offences dating back to 2020, when he was sentenced to a community order.
For these latest crimes, Drury was jailed for 12 weeks, suspended for 12 months.
He was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement. He must also pay his victims compensation.
