Newcastle fuel theft from haulage depot 'worth £24,000'

Thieves have stolen thousands of litres of fuel from a haulage depot in north-east England.

The 15,000 litres of diesel, worth about £24,000, was taken from a storage tank at Murray Hogg in Newcastle.

The cost of filling an average family car with diesel has topped £90 as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to affect global oil prices.

Company director David Hogg said prices were "crippling" for the firm, even before the theft.

"Coming and taking it after that is just knock after knock," he said.

"We'd heard there'd been a place in Newburn done just last week with the same operation, with this white truck, and took similar amounts of fuel."

Mr Hogg said a security guard had discovered a "hose coming from a fuel tank" during his early morning rounds.

He said he initially imagined someone had filled a few fuel cans with a garden hose.

But, when staff checked the level in the tank, they realised 15,000 litres had been taken.

The thieves must have "been there about three-and-a-half or four hours", Mr Hogg said.

They are believed to have used a pump to fill a number of tanks on a white lorry caught on CCTV.

It is thought there had been two other thefts in the Darlington and Newcastle areas in the past week.

Northumbria Police confirmed it was looking into the theft and has appealed for information.

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