Farmer's wife dies in diesel fuel theft
Pastor Dale Morgan
Farmer's wife dies in diesel fuel theft*
By Paul Stokes
Last Updated: 11:06PM BST 23/06/2008
A farmer's wife died and her son was run over after they caught a thief
trying to steal diesel from their farm.
Rosemary Dove, 68, collapsed after calling police to the scene of the
attempted raid. Meanwhile her son James chased the intruder as he drove
away, and was knocked into a ditch, suffering a double hip fracture.
Fuel thefts have increased by up to 75 per cent in some areas since
prices began rising, but the attempted theft in County Durham is thought
to be the first such incident in which anyone has died.
As police appealed to the public for information about the thief who
escaped from East House Farm, in Bishop Middleham, near Sedgefield, some
residents spoke of their fears that fuel raids will become commonplace
if prices continue to rocket.
One neighbour, who declined to be named, said: "Diesel thefts have
become common because of the rising prices. The tragedy is for Rosemary
and her family, it's an awful blow for them and everyone feels it in a
village of this size.
"I don't know anyone who wouldn't have done the same in trying to stop
them getting away."
Diesel thefts from farms have risen by 30 per cent nationally in recent
weeks and in some areas of the country fuel thefts in general have risen
by 75 per cent.
A spokesman for NFU Mutual, which insures farmers, said rising fuel
prices had made it "very tempting" for thieves to target farms, which
was "adding to feelings of fear amongst the rural community".
The Doves, who, like most farmers, keep a large tank of diesel at their
farm to fill tractors and other vehicles, spotted the intruder when they
returned home from an agricultural show in Scotland on Sunday night.
Mrs Dove dialled 999 and while her husband William went to confront the
man, who sped off in a silver pick-up. James Dove, 40, drove after him,
chasing the pick-up around the farm's fields together with relatives who
had come from a neighbouring farm to help.
At one point he got out of his car when he thought he and his relatives
had cornered the thief, only to be mown down and thrown into a ditch.
He is currently in hospital recovering from a double hip fracture and a
minor head wound.
Mrs Dove complained of feeling unwell immediately after the making the
phone call, and later collapsed. She was pronounced dead at the scene by
paramedics.
Ashley Dale, a neighbour and long-standing family friend, described Mrs
Dale as "a lovely woman, very kind, a happy, smiling kind of lady". He
added: "She has a loving and caring family and her death will be a great
loss to the whole community."
Chief Inspector Paul Harker, of Durham Police, said the pick-up, thought
to be a Mitsubishi, had forced its way out of the field but a search of
the surrounding area using a police helicopter failed to track it down.
He added that Mrs Dove's death had left her family "absolutely devastated".
NFU Mutual, which paid out £100,000 in claims for fuel theft in the
first five months of this year, blamed most thefts on gangs which sold
on the fuel to hauliers, but said in some cases drivers were simply
filling up their fuel tanks directly from farm pumps.
The AA said thefts from car fuel tanks were also increasing, with
thieves often puncturing fuel tanks to get at the contents, leaving a
costly bill for repairs.