Crouch End motorist had her fuel siphoned twice in two weeks despite locking fuel cap

A MOTORIST whose petrol has been siphoned twice in the last two weeks in a Crouch End road has warned others to be on their guard as the price of fuel continues to rocket.

Andrea Walker was left stranded on a motorway after thieves siphoned petrol from her Rover Mini and was targeted again just a week later while it was parked on Cecile Park, just metres away from the main road of Crouch Hill.

Now, as the average cost of fuel last week hit a new high of 128.71p per litre, she is urging other motorists, who she believes may have also been victims of the crime, to report incidents to the police so that the problem is taken seriously.

Ms Walker, 31, said: “When I moved to Crouch End six months ago, I was pleased to receive a reduction on my car insurance because I was moving to a safer and more affluent area.

“Despite being parked two or three car lengths from the corner of a busy major road, my petrol has been siphoned twice in as many weeks.

“The first time I noticed was when I ran out of petrol on the motorway and discovered that my key-locked petrol cap had been removed and tossed away.

“The second time, my new cap was left loose and there was a large petrol spill on the pavement beside my car.’’

A quick glance at other cars revealed the same tell-tale signs of targeting by ‘‘marauding siphoners,” she added.

A police spokeswoman for the area said there were no reports of petrol thefts between November and January this year, but since January 13, at least four had taken place.

Rover Minis were targeted in at least two cases, thefts had taken place in Middleton Road and more recently a van’s petrol had been siphoned on Park Grove, near Bounds Green.

Ms Walker added: “It makes you feel helpless – you can’t really stop them and you end up spending a lot of money catching cabs and refilling your tank.

“I fill up my tank, put my �40 of fuel in and then we have got to go and buy it again, so it’s definitely damaging my pocket-book.

“I don’t have any solutions, short of camping out in the back seat of my car and waiting for the perpetrators to reappear. However, if anything similar has happened to anyone else, I urge them to report the incidents to the police so that the situation of security in the area is taken seriously.”

Safer Neighbourhoods Sergeant Chris Weston Moore said: “Over the last three months, there have been only a handful of reports of petrol being stolen from vehicles in Haringey borough. Locking petrol caps do commonly help prevent such thefts.

“There are processes in place for reporting crime. In an emergency dial 999. An emergency is if the incident is on-going, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, someone is injured, being threatened or in danger. Otherwise call the police non-emergency number 0300 123 1212.

“In non-emergency situations you can report a crime or incident at any police station. Certain categories of crime can now be reported over the internet at www.online.met.police.uk, as long as an urgent response is not required.”