Three pubs in North Yorkshire targeted within two hours by thieves on the hunt for cooking oil

Reports were made to police on Friday morning about the same van which was seen in the villages of Roxby, Hinderwell and Sandsend just north of Whitby and then later in Burniston near Scarborough where the occupants were caught “red-handed” by binmen who were doing their rounds.

The first incident was around 7.10am at The Fox Inn pub at Roxby where the resident landlord heard the van and disturbed a man looking in the drums who said he was looking for waste oil.

The van was captured on CCTV at The Hart Inn at Sandsend around 20 minutes later and it was discovered that cooking oil that had recently been delivered had been taken.

Just over an hour later the van was in the car park at the Three Jolly Sailors pub at Burniston and binmen noticed two men trying to steal oil.

When they were challenged by pub staff for identification as they said they were from an organisation collecting oil, they fled and the landlady called the police.

It comes as there are fears over spikes in thefts of oil that is used for heating being stolen as prices for the fuel, combined with increased costs of living, have in some places trebled in six months.

Figures from NFU Mutual show that the value of claims being paid out for oil thefts has quadrupled in the last two years.

Alison Wilson, landlady at The Fox at Roxby, said a rural crime watch Whatsapp group was proving to be useful tool in keeping an eye on suspicious behaviour and they had managed to alert people about the van on Friday morning.

She said: “ We set up a rural crime watch in 2018 and about 70 people turned up to a meeting and set up a WhatsApp group that covers from Whitby to Easington. Anything that looks suspicious goes in there and has been quite successful.

“On Friday we were getting the kids ready for school and my husband heard a van pull into the car park. He thought it was a delivery driver at first and looked on the CCTV and they were looking in the oil drums where there is cooking oil and diesel. He went into the car park in his boxer shorts and shouted at them. They said they were checking waste oil but we don’t have any and they got back in the van and drove off.

“He rang 101 to report it but was on hold for 20 minutes and gave up.”

A spokesperson at the Three Jolly Sailors added: “They got red-handed. The police said they would try and catch them in the area but we have not heard back.”

North Yorkshire Police said the vehicle involved was a Transit van, the occupants were of Asian appearance and the matter has been referred to Cleveland Police.