Holes drilled to steal diesel from ice cream vans

An ice cream firm said it was ramping up security after diesel was stolen by thieves drilling holes in its vehicles' fuel tanks.

Parravani's in Beccles, Suffolk, said it had been targeted by fuel thieves three times since the beginning of December, and two safes were stolen during a recent burglary.

Following the latest theft on 8 January, a delivery van was found with a hole in its tank and once again diesel had been taken, the company said.

The firm has appealed for witnesses to get in touch and Suffolk Police has been contacted for comment.

Manager Adrian Nichols said: "It is not so much about the value of the diesel, it is about the damage they do to the vehicles. I would rather they come to me and ask for £20 for some diesel.

"They crawl underneath the large delivery vans and drill a hole into the fuel tank.

"A lot of the diesel has spilled out, so whoever did this must have been covered in the fuel, so someone must have known something.

"We run the fuel tanks right down now every night and we will be installing CCTV cameras all along the side of the premises to try to stop this happening again."

Mr Nichols said replacing two diesel tanks had cost him nearly £3,000.

During a separate incident at the business, on George Westwood Way, two safes containing £900 were stolen after the premises was broken into.

Mr Nichols added: "It feels quite personal and very brazen that this has been done to me four times in the space of a month."

Parravani's Ice Cream, founded in 1898, said it was the oldest independent ice cream maker in East Anglia and moved to Beccles in 2012.

In October, Suffolk Police renewed calls urging lorry drivers and haulage company owners to remain cautious of thieves targeting heavy goods vehicles for fuel.

The warning followed a number of incidents where vehicles had diesel stolen from their tanks while parked overnight in laybys and lorry parks on the A14 and A12.

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