Portsmouth truck stop has 30,000 litres of diesel stolen

CCTV showed two lorries arriving at the Portsmouth Truckstop and someone climbing on top of one of the tankers to place a pipe into it

A businessman has told how 30,000 litres of diesel was stolen from his truck stop.

Dave O'Donnell, who runs Portsmouth Truckstop in the Farlington area of the city, said CCTV showed his fuel tankers being drained at about 00:45 BST on Saturday.

Mr O'Donnell said £45,000 worth of fuel was stolen and it was a "massive hit" to his family-run business.

Hampshire Constabulary said it was investigating.

The Portsmouth Truckstop provides lorry drivers with a place to park overnight, shower and eat before filling up with fuel to continue their journeys.

Mr O'Donnell said CCTV showed two lorries arriving at about midnight and someone climbing on top of one of the tankers to place a pipe into it.

The footage then shows one lorry leaving an hour later, and the second leaving at about 02:00.

Dave O'Donnell said £45,000 worth of diesel was stolen from Portsmouth Truckstop on Saturday

Mr O'Donnell said there were two tankers of fuel based on site and a meter in the office showing the amount of fuel remaining in each one.

He said they had a delivery of fuel the previous week, meaning their total fuel should have been 43,000 litres.

But when he checked the fuel reading on Monday, it was 13,000 litres.

Mr O'Donnell said: "It looks like a professional job, I've been watching through the footage again and again.

"We're going to have to make an arrangement with our supplier and take the hit for it, but we're just a family business so it's a massive hit."

He added: "With everything going on with the fuel shortage right now, it's just a crazy time.

"We can still have lorries parked up, but we're turning so many away at the moment and our pumps are still out of action."