News of the theft was shared online in a Romanian HGV drivers group last week.
In one heavily-commented post, Romanian Petre Gheorghe shared photos and videos of a White Scania s500 with Romanian plates driving out of a UK service station with a hose trailing underneath.
Captioning the images and video, Mr Gheorghe wrote:
“Hello colleagues, allow me to introduce you to this gentleman. I caught him in the parking area on the M4 in Reading at his tank with a hose attached that stretched to my tank to empty it. He drove off with the hose trailing, I salute you, have a nice trip and take care!”
The post has been shared well over 700 times, with Romanian truckers determined to track the thief down and ensure he won’t steal again.
Honest Romanian HGV drivers are doubly frustrated by the growth in diesel theft. Not only are they often victims of diesel theft just like all the other truck drivers working across Europe, but their reputation is also taking a severe bashing due to the criminal actions of their compatriots.
This anger and frustration was there for all to see in the comments section of Mr Ghoerghe’s post. Furious drivers reacted by calling for the offending driver’s vehicle to be set ablaze, with some truckers also labelling the thief “shameful” and a “filthy b*st*rd”.
Posted by Petre Gheorghe on Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Photo © Copyright Bob Harvey and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. Image is cropped and used for illustrative purposes only.