// BBC BUSINESS NEWS — FINANZA
'We were target of sinister heating oil theft and want to warn others'
Kate Clifford is director of the Rural Community Network
The head of a rural community charity has warned of the growing risk of home heating oil theft after her own organisation fell victim to thieves.
Kate Clifford, director of the Rural Community Network (RCN), arrived at the charity's offices one morning to find the heat was not working.
"We initially thought there must be a leak, but then we could see damage to the tank and knew something was seriously wrong," she said.
The charity had only recently filled its tank with more than 1,000 litres of oil which police later confirmed had been stolen.
There have been 600 reports of oil and fuel thefts in Northern Ireland since 2021
Clifford said: "The tank at our offices isn't easily accessible, and somebody must have known we had recently filled up, so the worrying thing was it felt very premediated, and that felt quite sinister.
"We are a charity, so we have to be very careful with our funds, so to lose this was a huge expense to us and then we had to spend money on extra security measures."
The theft at the charity's Cookstown offices happened in 2024, but the charity is speaking out as new figures show there have been 600 reports of oil and fuel thefts in Northern Ireland since 2021.
Home heating oil is a key energy source for heating and hot water in the majority of households across Northern Ireland.