Thieves made off with almost £20,000 of fuel in Tayside in the last year, according to new figures.
Soaring prices at the pump are believed to have fuelled the criminals’ targeting of private and commercial vehicles, domestic properties and storage tanks.
Figures show that £16,350 of diesel and £3462 of petrol was stolen in the region between January 2010 and this March.
Officers dealt with 153 cases of fuel thefts across Tayside, almost equally divided between petrol and diesel.
Western division which includes Perth and Kinross was the area most heavily targeted by the fuel thieves, with 64 reported cases, the majority of them for diesel. Petrol thefts were more common in central and eastern divisions, which include Dundee and Angus, respectively.
National Farmers’ Union Scotland senior secretary for Perthshire Robin Gawn said his members had been the victims of thefts “all over the place.”
“It tends to be storage tanks in outbuildings that they are going for. The fact that they are in remote areas is certainly a factor.
“In some cases they don’t even have to drive up a lane some of them are coming across fields and carting it away that way. The fact that these areas are isolated means that they can even work away over several hours, emptying a tank.
“It’s always been an issue but it is even more so now because of the high fuel price.”
The full cost of fuel thefts in the region is believed to be even higher as the figures do not cover “red diesel” a rebated duty fuel seized on the roads by HM Revenue and Customs staff.
Red diesel contains a red marker dye and is not for use on road-going vehicles. It leaves a stain that can be detected by HMRC officers.
A spokesman for Tayside Police said anyone who was offered cheap or cut-price diesel to buy should be aware that they too could end up committing a crime.
“Wherever fuel is kept in large quantities, the storage tanks should be kept in an area that is well lit. If possible, they should be relocated inside suitable, lockable outbuildings that can be fitted with an alarm.
“Vehicles left in an open compound can also be vulnerable and should be fitted with lockable fuel caps.
“Vehicles should be parked hard up against a fence or wall to prevent easy access to the fuel cap for thieves.”