Lockerley primary school has been the victim of oil thieves three times in the past eighteen months. The school reopened on January 4th after the Christmas holidays and there was shock and dismay when the realisation that there was no heating set in. The school tried to function without the oil on 4th and 5th of January but the principal took the decision to close for the remaining three days of that week. Hazardous conditions on the roads at the time meant that emergency oil supplies could not get to the school quickly enough for the school to remain open.
The principal of the school Ms. Ann Smyth told how there had been half a tank of oil when the school closed for the Christmas holidays but when they returned the fuel indicator was showing a level of zero. The school had to close again from the 6th to the 8th of January, but management continued to try to get more oil delivered. Eventually the oil company managed to battle through the snow and ice and had 1000 litres delivered on the evening of January 7th. But they were severely disappointed when the following Monday morning they found levels again at zero. It was pointed out by Ms. Smyth that the school had been targeted back in July 2008 but that the thieves had fled after being interrupted.
Ms. Smyth spoke of how they first thought that the gauge on the tank was broken but it was only when they actually climbed up to see the oil in the tank that they found the lock had been cut and that the oil had been stolen. The school have now had to increase security to try to prevent further oil thefts. There have been suggestions that many the tank should have a cage placed around it to stop thieves from reaching it. Police are continuing their investigations into these incidents.
The growing cost of oil and the global recession have seen huge increases in the number of thefts from oil tanks.
Getting the home heated up during winter can be very expensive. Gas and electricity are very expensive today, with no signs of prices coming down. Savvy people are changing over to oil as a home fuel though. And when this happens they have to ensure the tanks re always full of cheap heating oil to make sure they don’t run dry in the cold weather.
http://www.frontpagearticles.com/article-directory/03/2010/general/school-becomes-victim-of-oil-theft-for-third-time/
School Becomes Victim Of Oil Theft For Third Time