SOFT JUSTICE: Serial fuel thief gets just £200 fine

SCENE: Higgs stole lager from the Co-op at the Texaco services in Braintree

A SERIAL fuel thief has escaped with a just £200 fine.

Mark Higgs, 36, from the Hovefields Avenue traveller site in Wickford, Essex, admitted at Basildon Magistrates Court to making off without paying for diesel on three occasions from Chelmsford service stations.

FOUR PACK: Higgs stole booze and small amounts of diesel during a mini crime spree

The small sums of between £6 and £7 were stolen in April and June 2016.

Higgs, who runs building firm Staysure Home Improvements Limited, also admitted stealing four cans of Stella Artois lager worth £4 from the Co-op at the Texaco service station at Braintree bypass on June 13 the same year.

He was also ordered to pay compensation of £24.40, a £30 victim surcharge and court costs of £85.