A THIEF caught bilking petrol from an Ely garage had plenty of cash to pay for the stolen fuel, he admitted to magistrates this week. Nineteen-year-old Adam Whiting put £30.01 worth of unleaded fuel into his BMW car before driving off from the Jet garag

A THIEF caught "bilking" petrol from an Ely garage had plenty of cash to pay for the stolen fuel, he admitted to magistrates this week.

Nineteen-year-old Adam Whiting put £30.01 worth of unleaded fuel into his BMW car before driving off from the Jet garage on the A10 without paying.

Staff alerted police, and Whiting was stopped on the M11 near Duxford, Ely magistrates were told.

A check on the police national computer showed that the teenager had no insurance cover for his car.

"He told police he was driving home after visiting family in King's Lynn," said prosecutor Matthew Bradbury. "He accepted he went to the petrol station, filled up and did not pay."

Whiting, of Nash Road, Romford, told the court: "Taking the petrol was my fault, I hold my hands up, I was just not thinking."

The court ordered Whiting to pay £30.01 compensation. He was fined £234 for having no insurance, and banned from driving for six months. The court ordered him to pay £60 costs and a £15 surcharge.