A Gold Coast man chased down an alleged fuel thief twice after spotting someone siphoning diesel from a truck in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Videographer James Longstaff, 23, was editing videos at a Molendinar business when he noticed suspicious activity on CCTV about 1.30am and ran outside barefoot to confront the driver.
Footage captured by Longstaff shows him sprinting after a ute as the alleged thief sped away with the fuel hose still attached. “What are you doing mate, what are you doing. Holyyy!!!” he yelled. As the ute accelerated, diesel spilled across the road while the pump tore free from the truck. Longstaff later held up the detached equipment, joking: “I’ve got myself a flaming free pump. Let’s flaming go.”
Longstaff told 7NEWS he reacted instinctively after spotting the alleged theft unfold live on CCTV. “It was just a one-second response really. I was like screw this guy,” he said. Minutes later, while Longstaff was on the phone to police, the ute allegedly returned to the street. “I just came running back out again and sure enough he reversed all the way up the street,” he said.
Still barefoot when 7NEWS caught up with him later that day, Longstaff recreated the dramatic chase while detectives investigated the incident. “I think it’s unfortunate the fuel crisis... I think it’s unfair that people are doing this kind of thing,” he said. The video has since attracted thousands of views online, with Longstaff saying he mainly uploaded it in the hope someone would recognise the alleged offender.
