Following four heating oil thefts amounting to thousands of pounds in one week, Tavistock Police are reminding people in rural communities to be vigilant in protecting their heating oil, red diesel and batteries.

They suggest some of the following measures to reduce the risk of theft: keeping vehicles in well-lit and secure areas, using locking fuel caps and alarms, fitting anti-siphoning devices onto storage tanks, installing CCTV, storing tanks in cages, using fuel cards if you are a company, using defensive parking techniques or isolation switches which allow authorised access, ensuring gates and compounds are locked and secured with anti-attack covers on locks and signage at entrances where security devices are being used to act as a deterrent.