POLICE in Accrington are launching a crackdown on the growing problem of petrol thieves who fill-up and drive off without paying.

Officers have targeted one filling station in Burnley Road after it was revealed that there had been more than 50 incidents of theft so far this year, making the town a drive-off blackspot.

And an industry body set up to help tackle the fraud has warned that people carrying out the offence are often linked to more serious criminal activity.

Sgt Simon Holderness said that while the majority of the "drive-offs" from the Texaco self service station were people deliberately stealing petrol, there were also incidents of people innocently leaving without paying.

He said thieves were often stealing up to £90 of petrol at a time from the filling station, opposite Addison Street in the town centre.

While petrol theft is a problem across the county it is this location in Accrington which is proving particularly problematic.

Sgt Holderness said: "As the station is one of the main routes into the town from Burnley, offenders are filling their car up and driving off without paying.

"Some drive-offs may be down to genuine reasons such as forgetful customers, or failure by staff to check whether shop customers also have petrol.

"It is often difficult to distinguish between these incidents and criminal acts, resulting in lengthy and unnecessary police inquiries, and financial loss for the service station."

He said that criminals had now started to steal registration plates before stealing petrol. Plates had been found discarded nearby after offences were committed.

Sgt Holderness added: "We are working closely with the manager of the service station to address this problem."