POLICE have launched a crackdown on crooks targeting petrol stations in Blackburn and Darwen.

The scheme, already tested in Darwen, will focus on driving down forecourt crime such as stealing petrol and robberies and thefts from service station shops.

Six petrol station sites in Lancashire have signed up for the initiative which will use a range of crime-cracking measures in the bid to beat crime.

The scheme was launched in Darwen earlier this year after more than £2,700 worth of petrol was stolen in a five week period from Bolton Road Service Station.

Police said thefts and frauds at the garage accounted for 16 per cent of all crime in the area from Whitehall to Darwen town centre.

The BP Garage in Grimshaw Park, Blackburn, has also been hit by a number of drive-off thefts and is one of the service stations to join the scheme.

Crime cracking measures which will be employed there include:

Extra CCTV cameras so the pumps and forecourt are covered and a facility for the cashier to monitor and record suspicious activity at night.

The setting up of prior payment pumps at night between 8pm and 6am.

A facility to provide police training for staff so suspicious vehicles and people can be monitored closely.

Posters before and after the station to warn people that security has been increased.

Shop floors have also been redesigned to minimise opportunities for thefts and staff have been trained in crime prevention and dealing with unruly customers.

Manager of Grimshaw Park Service Station Amanda Sykes said: "Drive off thefts have been a problem for us now and again in the past but we are hoping to crack down on them even further, that's why we have joined the scheme.

"Hopefully the extra cameras guarding the forecourt and the shop will have a positive effect for us."