THREE offenders from London have been sentenced for stealing from a Warrington pub.

It comes after Cheshire Police conducted a stop check of a van travelling on the A49 London Road in Stretton.

At 5am on Wednesday, March 1, officers spotted a transit van on London Road.

They stopped and searched the vehicle, and the three occupants were arrested on suspicion of the theft of cooking oil from Stretton Fox pub.

Nationally, it is believed that thieves are targeting businesses such as takeaways and pubs to steal used oil to sell on to make biofuels for use in diesel vehicles.

Mitko Asenov, 27, and Asen Asenov, 32, both of Turnpike Lane in London, and Bozhidar Andreev, 35 and of Lordship Lane in London, were all subsequently charged with theft.

The charge states that all three stole cooking oil of a value unknown belonging to Stretton Fox public house.

They appeared to be sentenced at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court in London on Tuesday, May 9 after each pleading guilty to the charge.

All were sentenced by magistrates to a 12-month community order, including 100 hours of unpaid work in and for the benefit of the community.

They were also ordered to each pay a surcharge to fund victim services of £114 and costs to the Crown Prosecution Service of £85.

Businesses are urged to review security and processes for disposing of cooking oils to prevent them being targeted by thieves.

This includes asking suppliers for locking barrels, ensuring CCTV cameras and security lighting are installed and keeping used oil barrels indoors if it is safe do so.

Police add that as the cost of living continues, some motorists may be tempted to fill their fuel tanks with seemingly cheap biofuels.

However, in the long run, use of such products is likely to cause increased costs as they can be harmful to modern diesel engines.

They pose a serious risk of clogging fuel injectors and emission control devices.