A PAIR of cooking oil thieves hadn’t realised they weren’t allowed to take the vats of oil, a court heard.

Frasimir Zlatkov, 29, and Rumen Ganchev, 40, were spotted by staff at Broome Manor Golf Course on December 16, 2020, acting suspiciously.

Prosecutor Keith Ballinger told Swindon Magistrates’ Court that the men were in a 2007-plate Ford Transit van which, at around 10.40pm was seen to drive to where club staff stored drums of used cooking oil.

When the van left, staff checked and found five drums of oil were missing.

“This is reported to the police and the details of the van are also passed on. An officer subsequently locates and stops that vehicle,” Mr Ballinger said.

In the back of the van were a number of drums containing used cooking oil.

Ganchev, who was not insured to drive the van, was in the driver’s seat.

The men were interviewed and accepted they’d been travelling around, going to a number of different businesses looking for oil. They said they would have sold the oil on.

Mr Ballinger said: “Mr Ganchev accepts he was the driver. He said that he was driving because Mr Zlatkov was feeling unwell.

“It’s Mr Zlatkov’s vehicle and in his interview he said he was feeling tired, which is why he allowed Mr Ganchev to drive.”

Mitigating, Liz Highams asked the magistrates to take into account her clients’ early guilty pleas.

She said: “Admissions [were made] to the police in interview. They’ve accepted that they’ve committed these offences and the account they gave to the police is the account they gave to me today. It is a straightforward misunderstanding of the law.

“Whilst that is no defence, it is certainly mitigation. They accept they took the oil, they accept they did not ask permission.

“In terms of the insurance, again a misunderstanding. In other countries in Europe the insurance follows the vehicle as opposed to the individual. Obviously, that is different here.”

Ms Highams said the men’s early guilty pleas and full admissions to the police at the time meant the magistrates could deal with the matter by way of a conditional discharge.

Zlatkov and Ganchev, both of West Green Road, Tottenham, pleaded guilty to theft. Ganchev admitted driving without insurance, while Zlatkov pleaded guilty to permitting another to use his vehicle without insurance.

Neither man had previous convictions.

The magistrates fined each man £240 and ordered each pay £119 in costs and surcharge. Both were given six penalty points on their licence.