Ballymena borough is a hotspot for fuel ‘drive-offs’

Ballymena is fifth highest in the province for petrol station ‘drive-offs’.

In the past year, there were 28 recorded incidents where motorists drove off a forecourt in the borough without paying for their fuel, according to figures obtained by The Irish News.

By comparison, neighbouring boroughs Antrim and Ballymoney had 18 and nine drive-offs in the same period, respectively.

The vast majority of drive-offs are due to human error and people do later pay when their error has been pointed out to them.

Often drive-offs have occurred where customers fill up at the pumps, then purchase other items inside and, by the time they reach the checkout have forgotten about their fuel.

In an effort to avoid this, staff at many petrol stations in the Ballymena borough now ask customers who approach the counter if they have purchased fuel.

However the figures show there are still some who will deliberately try to evade paying for fuel and who could, in so doing, be liable for prosecution.

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