Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland van targeted by diesel thieves

The charity said about £180 of fuel was stolen

A charity stands to lose thousands of pounds in revenue after thieves stole diesel from one of its delivery and collection vans.

Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland's executive director said a hole was drilled into the tank underneath the van in their car park in London Road, Leicester, between Friday and Saturday.

Tony Donovan said the damage would keep it off the road for several weeks.

Leicestershire Police have asked anyone with information to contact them.

The thieves did not siphon the fuel but drilled a hole underneath

Mr Donovan said: "They stole £180 worth of fuel. It's not so much the fuel, it's the vehicle will be off the road for a few weeks.

"This vehicle is used to collect goods from people wanting to donate to the charity that can be sold in our shops and it's also used to deliver goods people have bought.

"Not having the vehicle on the road for two, three, four weeks means we are going to lose money, and in losing money services will be affected as well.

"The impact is probably thousands [of pounds] for us."

He said the thieves placed a container under the tank to collect the diesel.

This process left fuel "all over the car park", and they had to put sand down to help remove it.

A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman said: "On Saturday a report was received that fuel had been stolen from the tank of a van parked in London Road.

"The incident is believed to have happened between 01:00 BST and 09:00."