Last updated at 14:44, Friday, 07 August 2009

AN eye-witness to the theft of a burger van in broad daylight believes the thieves had staked out the area days before making their move.

Police have issued a plea for information after a burger van was stolen from a westbound lay-by on the A590 at Rusland Pool near Ulverston.

The white burger van has Linda’s Waysider written on it in blue and yellow lettering and is valued at £3,500.

The eye-witness, who wished to remain anonymous, was driving along the A590 on Wednesday afternoon at 4.45pm when he saw two men loading the van on to a lorry.

He said: “I smelt a rat as soon as I saw it.

“It was being loaded on a flatbed wagon by two men who then covered it with a green tarpaulin. I thought at first that maybe the council were having a purge and removing them so I rang the council when I got home but they said it was nothing to do with them. When I mentioned the men had covered it with a tarpaulin, the woman at the council said it sounded suspicious so I rang the police.”

The witness, who is also a burger van owner, said that ordinary members of the public driving past the scene would not have realised what was taking place. He said: “To a normal person, it would’ve just looked like the owners were removing it. But if the men who took it had done it in the middle of the night, it would’ve looked suspicious.

“This is how thieves work, they must have been to the area beforehand and had a look at all the burger vans and targeted this one.”

The witness said the theft should act as a warning to other burger van owners who leave their vans on lay-bys overnight.

He said: “They are sat there saying ‘steal me’. There are about four or five that are left out and the one that was taken is the best of them.

“People need to arrange for them to be kept in a secure yard. Some people don’t even have insurance to cover theft, and if you lose your van you lose your livelihood. I do have sympathy for the owner but hopefully this will act as a warning to van owners who leave their vans out overnight.”

Ulverston Inspector Paul Latham said: “This would not have involved an opportunist thief. To steal a vehicle of this size will have taken a considerable amount of planning and is likely to have involved more than one person.

“We are investigating the theft of someone’s livelihood and we need the help of the public to trace the offender or offenders. The trailor was stolen at around 4.45pm – a peak time for traffic – so someone is bound to have witnessed something, even if they didn’t realise it at the time.

“I’d like to appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time who witnessed any activity on the roadside to contact Ulverston police on 0845 33 00 247 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Anyone who witnessed the theft or who has information is asked to contact PC Avril Jones on 0845 33 00 247 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

First published at 13:10, Friday, 07 August 2009
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk