FUEL thefts from Oxfordshire service stations have soared by more than 80 per cent in five years.

Figures obtained by the Oxford Mail show 1,549 drivers fled after filling up last year – up from 853 in 2006.

And thieves are also stealing more fuel from parked vehicles, with the number of crimes rising from 97 to 113 in the same period.

Police said rising fuel costs and a “significant increase” in stolen number plates were being linked to the thefts, known as ‘bilking’.

The figures, released by Thames Valley Police under the Freedom of Information Act, show 5,336 people have left petrol stations without paying in five years, with levels rising year-on-year.

In November 2006, a litre of unleaded would set you back 86p, with diesel costing 91.6p per litre.

But by March this year, prices had reached new record highs, with unleaded costing on average 133.46p and diesel passing the 140p a litre mark for the first time.

That’s a 55 per cent for unleaded and a 53 per cent increase for diesel.

Karthick Subramani, manager of the Murco Garage in Cowley, said thefts had increased.

He said: “Sometimes thieves will put £70 of petrol in their car before just driving off.

“It has definitely got worse over the past few years and it has happened as fuel has got more expensive.

“There a number of cars that seem to pop up across Oxfordshire, repeatedly driving off without fuel, so the different stations alert one another.

“But theft is costing us more and more each year.”

Jason Bullock, managing director of family-run Horspath Service Station in Oxford Road, said they hadn’t noticed an increase.

He said: “I think we are the only petrol station in Oxfordshire to still operate the pumps ourselves.

“It’s a traditional way of doing things, but it also makes it very difficult for people to drive off without paying.

“I suppose that’s the main reason we haven’t noticed an increase.”

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology used by some petrol stations registers details of any car that makes off without paying.

It is then fed into a central system which alerts other petrol stations and the police.

But thieves can dodge detection by using number plates stolen from vehicles of a similar make and model.

Det Insp Paul Miller, of Oxford Police, said: “When the price of fuel increases, the number of crimes associated with fuel thefts also rise.

“This includes bilking offences and also fuel being siphoned from vehicles.

“ANPR systems have their place but you now have people who try to circumvent this by using false plates, which makes things more difficult for us. Stolen number plate rates have gone up significantly in recent years.”

Det Insp Miller added that a number of the thefts were also down to people accidentally driving off, before later returning to pay.

Luke Bosdet, from the AA, said: “If someone steals fuel from your car, you not only lose a large amount of cash but also need to buy a new fuel tank.

“And petrol stations have to pass on the cost of fuel thefts to customers, so innocent drivers suffer too.”

Thames Valley Police were unable to provide specific figures for fuel theft arrests last night.