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Cumbrian men jailed for conspiring to steal fuel
Page 6
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• Two men from Cumbria have been jailed for their part in a plot to steal diesel from local hauliers at the height of the fuel crisis two years ago.
Keith Coulthard and Robert Pattinson, both from Wigton, admitted to conspiracy to steal diesel. They were jailed for 18 and nine months respectively.
A third man, accountant John Stamper, also from Wigton, admitted perverting the course of justice and was jailed for three months.
Carlisle Crown Court heard how Coulthard and Pattinson had conspired to steal more than 10,000 litres of diesel worth 25,700 from hauliers and other businesses all over Cumbria. The offences took place over nine months, beginning in September 2000 at the height of the fuel crisis.
Thomas Eaton, prosecuting, said Coulthard had worked at night using electric pumps to transfer gallons of diesel from storage tanks into drums and barrels.
The two were arrested following a lengthy police investigation codenamed Operation Alsatian.
Police raided 40 homes in Wigton, seizing bolt cutters, lengths of hosepipe and a pump from Coulthard. They also found plastic barrels, which Coulthard said were for a charity raft race.
He originally denied the theft, but pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy to steal and attempting to steal at a plea and directions hearing at Carlisle Crown Court earlier this month.
At the same hearing, Stamper was formally found not guilty of conspiring to steal when he pleaded guilty instead to perverting the course of justice by reporting to the police that a van had been stolen.
Pattinson admitted his part of the conspiracy—storing items in his house which may have been used to steal diesel.