Mum, 34, shocked as £50 worth of petrol drained by fuel thieves after she bragged about full tank to neighbours

A MUM who bragged about her full tank of petrol to her neighbours had her £50 worth of fuel STOLEN.

Jenni Turner, 34, was shocked to find a puddle of petrol under her Ford Fiesta as the fuel crisis reaches fever pitch.


The mum, of Erith, south east London, had managed to fill up a full tank the day before and had bragged about her steady supply to one of her neighbours.

She then discovered two holes – the size of a five pence piece – had been drilled through the petrol tank to swipe her highly sought-after fuel.

A black car sped off "unusually quickly" as Jenni returned home with her five-year-old son George at around 6.30pm last Sunday.

"George was riding his bike and must have disturbed them when he came around the corner," she explained.

"I'd never usually think to look at my car, but I did and all I saw was petrol coming out of the bottom."

The three fuel thieves were caught in the act on a neighbour's CCTV camera, brazenly filling up two jerry cans straight from Jenni's tank.

Now the childminder, who relies on her car to get to work, has been left "really, really angry" by the "daylight robbery" outside of her home.

The fuel crisis seems to have sparked a concerning increase in crime – with fights breaking out on forecourts across the country.

A shortage of HGV drivers and panic buying Brits has left petrol stations unable to cope with the demand for fuel.

The 34-year-old had even been parking next to her garage to conceal her petrol cap, but had to move her car to get bikes out for her outing with her son that morning.

"I was going to put it back but I thought 'don't be silly, people aren't going to steal your petrol' and then that's exactly what happened," she raged.

"Most of the petrol had spilled on the floor so they must have only got a few quids worth – it literally went down the drain.

"I've been driving 12-years and have never had to make a claim on my insurance. Now I've got to make a claim and it's through no fault of my own."

Jenni said she has started "second-guessing everyone" after joking with one of her neighbours just a day earlier that she had managed to fill up.

"BE AWARE"

"It might have been nothing but now I'm just thinking of all the people I've told that I managed to get petrol," she continued.

Jenni has now been forced to claim on her insurance to fix the damage, which has amounted to over £800.

She has "no option" but to fork out for the excess of this herself as she "needs" her car for work.

Firefighters allegedly told Jenni that they had been attending to similar incidents all day.

She said a pal who works for the police has also been plagued with calls about fights at petrol stations.

Jenni warned: "Just be aware and move your car. Put them under cameras, or anything you can do, because people managed to do this to me in broad daylight."

PETROL POACHERS

A Met Police spokesman said: "We were called to a report of petrol being taken from a car at a residential property at 6.48pm on Sunday September 26.

"Following an assessment of available evidence, it was determined that there was no realistic prospect of identifying a suspect.

"The victim has been informed and the case has now been closed.

"Should further evidential opportunities come to light this decision may be reviewed."

It comes just after petrol poachers allegedly stole £45,000 worth of diesel from a truck shop in an early morning raid.

Soldiers will now drive fuel trucks to ease the petrol chaos as the Army is sent in to aid the worsening situation – but Boris Johnson has vowed the crisis is improving.

Exasperated motorists have been left queueing through the night to get a chance to use petrol pumps.

Some 150 military drivers will be available to transport fuel around the country, it was confirmed earlier this week.

FIGHTS ON THE FORECOURT

The Ministry of Defence approved the request for assistance and soldiers will start driving fuel lorries this week.

The new development will see soldiers driving HGVs after the PM was urged to "act now" as thousands of Brits panic buy at petrol stations across the country.

Fights have broken out on forecourts and more than half of stations across the country have run out of fuel.

And it was reported today that ambulance drivers have been sent begging letters from the Government urging them to switch career and become truckers.

Ministers denied angry claims they're trying to "poach" paramedics after they issued a national distress call to a million HGV licence holders.

Some daft drivers have been stockpiling fuel in any container they can – including BIN BAGS and water bottles.

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