RAC warns thieving motorists to stop 'pushing their luck' as crime jumps by half

RAC warns thieving motorists to stop 'pushing their luck' as crime jumps by half

Motorists are being cautioned to pay for their petrol and diesel as new statistics reveal a significant surge in fuel thefts over the past year.

Fresh data, procured by motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, indicates that bilking - the act of filling up your vehicle at a petrol station and then driving off without paying - has risen from 44,631 instances between February and April last year to 66,378 during the same period this year.

This represents a 49 per cent increase, with the rise attributed to repeat offenders "pushing their luck" and gaining confidence from the perception that police forces are too stretched elsewhere to focus on this issue.

The figures are based on the number of requ