He nicked 100,000 gallons of red diesel

A crooked employee who plundered almost £500,000 worth of red diesel fuel from his employers have been jailed for more than three years.

William Bates, 70, made more than £30,000 a year in profits by helping himself to vast quantities of the fuel while working for UK Power Networks.

Bates had worked at the company for  30 years and was a field officer tasked with refuelling generators that helped fuel power sub-stations with red diesel.

But in October 2010 he started falsifying his refuelling tickets and overstating the amount of fuel had used, Snaresbrook crown court heard.

He put the excess fuel in an unauthorised 1,000 litre tank in the back of his van and delivered it to Gables Farm, Swanley, Kent.

Bates had even requested a larger Ford Transit van from UK Power Networks so he could transport more stolen fuel.

He was paid up to £200 for each diesel delivery he made to the farm, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor John Clifford said the company’s estimated loss was in the region of £485,000.

Bates’ thefts finally came to light in August 2013 when UK Power Networks noticed a large discrepancy between Bates’ fuel usage and the amount he required to complete his duties.

After checking the GPS tracker on Bates’ van, security staff noticed he had made 456 unauthorised trips to Gables Farm since October 2010.

The farm had nothing to do with UK Power Networks, the court heard.

Bates was seen by a surveillance team entering the farm and dropping off the fuel on 13 September 2013.

A covert camera was also installed in the back of his van, the court heard.

Bates was eventually suspended and arrested on 30 September 2013 but immediately tried to pin the blame on his colleagues.

Mr Clifford said the accusations levelled at fellow members of staff left them feeling ‘aggrieved and vulnerable.’

Following his arrest, Bates’ home in Kent was searched and police found £13,000 worth of stolen specialist company equipment.

Some of Bates’ loot included fuel pumps and specialist tools, which weren’t required for his job, the court heard.

After a lengthy and expensive investigation by the UK Power Network auditors, they estimated 434,000 litres of fuel had gone missing.

Mr Clifford said UK Power Networks have since introduced several new ‘safeguarding measures’ but there has been a ‘breakdown in trust’ between the staff and company.

Rowan Jenkins, defending, asked Judge Paul Southern to be lenient because of Bates’ age.

‘It’s always a disappointment for a court to be sentencing a man of this age who has otherwise led a good life,’ he said.

‘This was not the result of sophisticated planning but all rather clumsy.

‘This inevitable sentence will have a great impact on him and I ask that you bear in mind his age, health and the passage of time since these offences.’

Judge Southern told Bates a lengthy prison sentence was inevitable.

‘This was the systematic theft over a period of years of substantial quantities of red diesel,’ he said.

‘You also stole large quantities of other property belonging to your employers.

‘This was a serious breach of trust by a trusted employee and unofficial team leader.

‘Your defence counsel said everything he possibly could on your behalf and says it did not involve sophisticated planning.

‘But you made your employer change your van so you could fit in an unauthorised tank which shows some planning.

‘Because all of this fuel was taken directly to one farm there is an element of stealing to order – your motivation was purely financial.

‘The scale of the other property thefts you committed was also very systematic.

‘You are not a young man and I know serving this sentence will be harder for you than it would be for a younger man but only a lengthy custodial sentence can be justified.’

Bates, of Park Mead, Sidcup, Kent, admitted two counts of theft.

He was jailed for a total of 45 months.
ends