Warnings have been issued to road hauliers and businesses in Leeds after a spate of diesel thefts.
Police have advised transport and firms in the Pudsey, Bramley and Stanningley areas to improve and upgrade their security systems.
It comes after thieves targeted a company in Viaduct Street, Stanningley, at about 11.45pm last Monday, and stole f
uel worth more than £500 from seven trucks parked on the premises.
A firm on the Grangefield Industrial Estate, in Grangefield Road, Pudsey, was also targeted over the weekend and diesel worth more than £200 stolen from a vehicle parked there.
These are the latest in a series of similar incidents across the Pudsey and Weetwood Police Division and the county.
Officers from the West Outer Neighbourhood Policing Team are mounting extra patrols in the most badly-hit areas.
Insp Tom Horner said: "While we are doing all we can to help catch those responsible, we are urging local transport firms and other businesses who have large amounts of diesel in vehicles or stored elsewhere on their premises to check their security systems and make sure they are as robust as they can be.
"One simple measure would be not to leave vehicles parked up overnight with their tanks full of fuel.
"Firms need to think about their working practices. Could they fill their vehicles first thing in the morning and therefore not leave them as sitting targets overnight?
"They also need to think about the standard of their CCTV systems and whether they have got up-to-date equipment that will provide quality images that will help us to catch and prosecute those responsible."
Businesses can get the latest crime prevention advice from the Division's crime reduction officers, based at Pudsey police station, on 0113 241 4904.
Anyone with information about the thefts should contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
The full article contains 314 words and appears in EP Leeds First & County newspaper.
