A number of incidents have been reported across Gloucestershire.

Police are warning commercial business owners to be vigilant following an increase in reports of cooking oil thefts across Gloucestershire.

Offenders steal cooking oil that has been used or is being stored for future use to transform into unregulated biodiesel which they sell on for a profit.

They will often travel in transit style vans, storing large drums in the rear of the vehicle, and often fraudulently pose as a legitimate collector in order to steal the oil.

Officers are offering the following crime prevention to owners of pubs, restaurants and eateries:

• Make sure you and your staff members know who your grease collector is, what vehicles they use and what uniforms they wear.

• Know what days of the week your grease collector attends.

• Ask for ID if you believe people claiming to be contractors are suspicious.

• Keep used oil safely locked up in a storage area while you await collection.

• Mark, tag or write on your oil containers. This can help police to identify them if they are stolen and later recovered.

• Consider fitting an alarm to any external storage facility.

• Check your oil levels frequently to ensure they aren't fluctuating drastically between service visits.

• Contact your supplier about the possibility of lockable tubs and drums to prevent siphoning.

• Consider appropriate security lighting and CCTV. Even fitting dummy CCTV cameras and displaying CCTV signage may be enough to act as a deterrent.

Officers are urging businesses owners to report any suspicious activity to police. You can contact us using this online form or call or 999 if a crime is in progress.

Alternatively, you can report information anonymously through the independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or visiting their website.