Barroway Drove Village Hall

[Black Cat]

The Hall has had to be temporarily closed due to theft of oil and damage to the oil tank.
The Committee will reopen the Hall as soon as possible, but due to it being a holiday period
this will take longer.  Security measures were taken last year but evidently futher security will have to be installed before reopening.

[Tim]

This may seem a bit extreme but wouldn't a cage around the tank be an idea?

Tim

[Apple]

I was talking today to the chap who delivered us 1'000 litres of oil (and a big bill!), and he said that the way that oil is being stolen at the moment is by sharpening the end of a scaffold pole and then using its weight and momentum to force it through the wall of the tank, like a huge hypodermic needle.

Therefore, anyone who has a plastic tank that is easily accessible would do well to take some kind of precautions against this, perhaps, as Tim says, with a cage around the tank or fencing etc, anything that will stop the pole going through, (chain link fencing may be enough).

Apparently, once they have taken all the oil they can get, or if they are disturbed, they remove the pole and drive away, leaving the tank to continue running oil onto the ground, so you end up needing a new tank, more oil, and with the bill for decontaminating the soil.

With the disgraceful and sudden rise in the price of oil, this seems likely to happen more and more.

Having a fence fitted around the tank will probably cost less than a tank full of oil, so must be worth considering, especially if your tank is easily accessible to these idiots.

Anyone who is contemplating having a new tank may do well to have a bunded tank, (double wall), even if its location does not actually require it, as it must be more difficult to penetrate than a single wall tank.