Petrol Crises??

Car thief fills diesel Audi full of petrol

A car thief was forced to abandon a stolen Audi just a few miles from scene of crime after filling it with petrol instead of diesel.

Daniel Boxall had stolen the £13,000 Audi A4 after pickpocketing owner Caroline Lyons at a leisure centre in Ramsgate, Kent, on June 12 this year.

After taking her car keys he jumped into the vehicle and drove off with his friend Richard Lloyd.

After a few miles he realised the car was running low on fuel and pulled into a petrol station.

But the thief didn't realise the car was a diesel – despite it being written on the fuel cap – and filled it up with unleaded petrol.

As he drove off the car sputtered to a halt just a few hundreds yards from the petrol station and the 27-year-old Ramsgate man got out and flagged down a passing motorist.

Canterbury Crown Court heard how Boxall, of Ramsgate, then offered to sell the Audi to the driver for £100 before walking off saying that he would get a Porsche the next day.

The suspicious motorist then called police and Boxall and Lloyd were arrested as they walked along the road.

Ian Foinette, prosecuting, said: "CCTV shows a white man going to the female victim's Audi and driving away.

"At 11pm the same night two males were spotted broken down at the side of the road by a passer-by who offered to help.

"They offered to sell him the car for £100.

"When he declined they said, 'not to worry, tomorrow we'll have a Porsche'."

Boxall claimed he had "been forced" to drive the car by a "black drug dealer" who had stolen the car, but CCTV proved that it was a white male – Boxall – who stole the keys.

The pair were found guilty of aggravated vehicle taking and Boxall was given a 12-month suspended sentence and disqualified from driving for a year.

Lloyd was sentenced to 180 days in prison, suspended for 18 months and a 12-month driving ban.

Recorder David Hall told Boxall that the car was a write-off after his bungle, telling him: "You have a shocking record.

"This was a mean offence and the car was destroyed by stupidity which caused loss and distress to that lady."