I can't believe thieves ran a pipe through three fields to steal £16k of diesel from a Freckleton haulage yard
Thieves stole around £17,000 worth of diesel from a Freckleton haulage firm after running a pipe across three fields and cutting through dense hedges.
The criminals entered a field near Hillock Lane with a wagon and curtain side trailer - believed to have “Pall-ex” written on the side - sometime between 10.20pm on August 3 and 12.30am on August 4.
They then ran a 4-inch-wide pipe roughly 360 yards (1,080ft) through three fields, cutting through dense hedges, to reach M Threlfall Transport on Kirkham Road.
.jpeg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
Once there, the thieves forced the top off a large tank measuring 10ft wide, 10ft tall and 30ft long before siphoning 16,000 litres of diesel - worth approximately £17,000.
Mike Threlfall, 70, who runs the haulage firm, said the fuel had been delivered on Saturday, August 2 - something that normally does not happen.
“In a haulage yard, it’s very busy. Stuff is always coming in and going out, so it was planned,” he said.
“It happened in a two-hour window, so I can only think they’ve been here before as they’d cut through two hedges that are quite spiky.”
The theft was discovered on Wednesday, August 6, when staff reported a pump that was no longer working.
That was also when the pipe used to steal the fuel was found left in the fields.
Mike added: “They must’ve had a motor in the curtain side trailer to pull all that fuel.
“It’s got to be a fair motor to move that much from that depth.”
Pictures from the scene show the length of the pipe and the dense, spiky hedges the criminals had to cut through, as well as tyre tracks left behind.
“It is a lot of fuel,” Mike said.
“In today’s climate, margins are tight even with cheaper fuel.
“It’s an extra burden, and to think 100 metres away we’re sitting in the house and somebody’s pumping fuel off us…that in itself is horrible.”
.jpeg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
He hopes someone in the area may have seen the thieves leaving the scene and could have captured them on dashcam or CCTV.
A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “This has been reported to us and is being investigated.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting log number 0677 of August 7.
Information can also be reported online via Lancashire Police’s website at https://www.lancashire.police.uk/.
Alternatively, the independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/.