Heating oil thefts on the rise, says insurer

4 September 2008

Rural homes and farms are seeing in increase in home heating oil thefts, it has been revealed.

According to the BBC, insurer NFU Mutual has noted a significant rise in incidents this year, prompted by high oil prices.

Spokesman Terry Price noted that at least six cases are being reported each week, with thieves being "very, very sensitive" to price changes.

"Last year we saw a big increase in metal theft … because the price of metal was rising. The same is now happening with heating oil," he told the news source.

This is in addition to soaring farm machinery thefts in England, which rose by 41 per cent last year. Throughout the rest of the UK, however, a 50 per cent drop was recorded.

Recently the Ulster Herald reported that an 83-year-old woman in Northern Ireland had her heating oil tank drained while she was recovering from a stroke in hospital.

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