Householders need to 'step up' heating oil security

2 October 2008

Heating oil users in Northern Ireland are being encouraged to be wary about thieves as temperatures start to drop, according to a local report.

Police in Ballymena have warned residents that with oil prices continuing to rise and winter coming, thieves could target the potentially lucrative commodity, says the Ballymena Times.

Inspector Pete Bouma, head of the Ballymena neighbourhood policing team, said: "I am asking people to lock their oil tanks where possible and be vigilant and report any suspicious vans or lorries."

However, Inspector Bouma also told the paper that consumers should not confuse the rising cost of heating oil with a possible theft.

Householders needed to realise that £500 worth of oil that lasted six months last year may not last as long this year, so an empty tank may not necessarily be a theft, he added.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, finishing at $98.53 (£55.86) a barrel after a surprise jump in crude stocks in the US.

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