Petrol theft has surged by 62% since 2025, according to new figures from fuel theft recovery company Pay My Fuel. This surge correlates with the increasing petrol and diesel fuel prices caused by the US-Israel war with Iran.
Since the conflict began, the cost of filling an average sized family car with petrol has risen by £14, while a typical tank of diesel has gone up by around £27. According to data from Pay My Fuel, the number of drive-offs experienced by an average petrol station in the UK each week has increased from 2.1 in March 2025, to 3.4 in March this year. PayMyFuel smart software, which is installed across 1,400 petrol stations to help recover stolen funds, also shows that the average value of a drive-off has risen by 46% over the same period.
The firm’s director, Ian Wolfenden, revealed that drive-offs are three or four times as likely to occur in less affluent areas, with east and south east London, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham being problem areas.
Many people may think that petrol stations can afford the losses, but that is not the case for independent operators. The head of the National Business Crime Centre, Superintendent Lisa Maslen, saying that fuel theft places a significant strain on fuel retailers, with large financial impacts and an increased demand on police resources. Police forces are taking a proactive approach to tackling these crimes, working to spot patters, identify offenders, and prevent further thefts.
While the price of fuel has reduced slightly throughout April, the RAC claim that the cost of petrol remains 19.2% higher than at the start of the war, and diesel remains 34.5% above pre-war levels.