POLICE in Wellington are offering advice to the local farming community following the recent theft of fuel from a tank at a rural property in the area.

A spokesperson for the Wellington Neighbourhood Policing team said: "With the recent rise in fuel costs we are reminding our farming communities to consider taking some extra steps to prevent fuel thefts."

The spokesperson is telling people to ask themselves:

  • Is your fuel tank located where there is good surveillance?
  • Have you installed security lighting around the storage area?
  • Have you considered erecting a metal cage around the tank with a secondary lockable access to the filler cap?
  • Is the tank protected with an alarm/fuel level gauge?
  • Have you considered protecting the fuel tank with defensive planting?
  • Do you check the fuel levels on a regular basis?
  • Do you try to avoid unnecessarily large amounts of fuel in vehicles?
  • Do all your vehicles have lockable fuel outlets?
  • Do you lock away containers which could be used to transport and steal fuel?