Petrol thieves putting lives at risk by puncturing vehicle fuel tanks

AA Auto Centre Kingsland manager, Karlos Subritzky, says stabbing something into a fuel tank could create a spark.

It also creates a similar fire hazard for the unwitting car owner, once they try to start the car.

One unfortunate VW owner says it cost him 12-hundred dollars to repair his car- and he was left without a vehicle for four weeks while waiting for a replacement tank.

Another woman says fuel kept spilling from her car when she went to fill it - and the service station she was at had to close while fire-fighters mopped up the spill.