Last year, 172 drive-offs were reported in Newtownabbey - a staggering 17 per cent of the Northern Ireland total. Second in the table was South Belfast with 92 incidents.

Up to the end of May, there had been 89 attempts to make off without paying from forecourts in Newtownabbey this year.

The provisional figures, released by the PSNI, show the number of drive-offs is on the increase as fuel prices continue to rise.

In 2007, 1,008 drive-offs were recorded. Up until the end of May, the figure for 2008 stood at 563.

Last year Newtownabbey District Policing Partnership, in conjunction with local police, provided funding for notices advising motorists to pay up when they fill up at petrol stations. The initiative was aimed at encouraging the co-operation of the public in the prevention of crime.

Then Chairman of the DPP, Councillor Janet Crilly said: "It's important to stress the point that if you fill up, you have to pay up. I hope this initiative helps reduce the number of instances where people drive off without payment."

Glengormley alderman Nigel Hamilton said action must be taken.

"A lot of garages have CCTV and these culprits should be caught on camera, so one would hope that they would be identified," he said.

"People will respond to the increases in fuel prices in different ways. The majority will do so in a law-abiding and peace-keeping way by reducing the amount they consume, but people who are prepared to drive off without paying are proving to be a major problem for service owners.

"They will drive these businesses into the ground," he added.

In 2007 there were 18 reports of drive-offs in nearby Carrickfergus and eight for the first five months of 2008.

The statistics were obtained after a Freedom of Information request by our sister paper, The News Letter.