New research reveals that reports of heating oil thefts increased by around 4 per cent during 2010.
The research from independent heating oil industry consultant J Switzer Associates used information from every police force in the UK to find the number of reported heating oil thefts during 2009 and 2010.

Responses were received from 33 forces across the country, revealing the number of reported incidents in surveyed areas increased by 4.33 per cent to 2,407 during 2010.

The results found that Devon & Cornwall police force had the largest number of reported heating oil thefts of any UK region during 2010, with 836 instances, however this number was actually a decrease of 123, compared with 2009.

Although the number of heating oil thefts vary nationally, a number of forces in urban areas reported zero incidents of fuel and heating oil theft during 2010, whilst in a total of eight police areas, the number of thefts actually fell. Northern Ireland, which has the highest prevalence of oil heating in the country, reported the second highest number of thefts with 727 occurrences during 2010, an increase of 11.14 per cent on the previous year.

The research was commissioned by fuel tank supplier TankDepot.co.uk. Commenting on the statistics, Steve Beech, technical director at TankDepot.co.uk, said: 'As the price of any commodity increases, so too does its attractiveness to criminals. Heating oil is no different in this regard. Given historically high energy prices during the past few years, it is hardly surprising that the number of reported incidents continues to increase. It is important however to put these figures into context. Even in somewhere such as Northern Ireland, which has a relatively high number of reported heating oil thefts, such incidents represent less than 1 per cent of total reported crimes.'

Mr Beech added: 'Today's heating oil and fuel oil tanks are also better protected than ever. For instance, all Harlequin bunded tanks come complete with lockable fill point, lockable manhole access and lockable inspection point and all Harlequin Advance bunded tanks and are now supplied with unique Spin Secure locking technology as standard. Fitted to the manhole access point on the tank, the Spin Secure locking device spins freely when locked, making it almost impossible to remove without a key.'