An Arlesey chip shop owner wants to warn other businesses in the area about serial oil theives who have been stealing from him regularly since February.

Dragon Marjanovic has been left outraged and fed-up as the dawn raiders continue to come back to steal 200kg barrels oil – worth up to £60 each – from the garden of the award-winning Arlesey Fish and Chips.

Dragon has caught the theives red-handed on several occaisions, the most recent being last Thursday, when he managed to scare them off before they could steal from him again.

The shop-owner is adament that it is the same pair of perpetrators each time, leaving him puzzles as to why the police have not yet caught them. He said he had installed an alarm system, which is how he knew they were outside. After poking his head out of the window, they began walking away.

The pair made off without getting what they came to steal following a brief verbal altercation with Dragon

He told the Comet: I’m just working hard and trying to provide for my family, and then these guys come and steal from me.

“I report it to the police every time and they say there’s not enough evidence. I have given them pictures of the number plates and even pictures of their faces.

“It’s like they don’t want to protect the hard working people of Bedfordshire. It doesn’t matter how much it is, I’m working for that. Why do they think it’s okay to steal from my family. You can’t be awake 24/7 to keep watch.

“I wanted to warn other local businesses and restaurants – they should know about this because it is a nightmare.

“I am hoping that people are going to see this and recognise the number plate or might know something.”

A spokeswoman for Bedfordshire police said: “We were called at approximately 5.50am last Thursday to reports of two men in the garden of a property in High Street, Arlesey.

“The men, who were described as Asian, were disturbed and left the location in a white 02-reg Ford Transit van.

“Nothing was stolen and the information will be passed to our intelligence team. Anyone who witnesses suspicious activity in the area is asked to contact police on 101.