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 Topic: Another one stolen
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22/9/2011 at 10:47pm
Location: Leicestershire
Outfit: Swift Charisma 560 & Vauxhall Omega
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Joined: 21/8/2004 Gold Member 
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Having spoken with the police on several occasions over this case, one thing comes across.... "if they want it they'll get it"..... which I suppose we knew really. Every method of deterring/preventing a theft has its flaws - our heavy duty wheel clamp was bent and removed, same with the hitchlock and towball lock. Hidden behind locked gates and CCTV cameras - bypassed because they came across fields (and I've heard where ditches are crossed too). Removing tyres - they bring their own. In our case I strongly believe these people had this all planned and had visited the site previously - they came prepared and probably didn't take long to do what they did.
We are still waiting for Scene of Crimes Officers to check the van, so we still haven't seen it, but when we do get it back we have some decisions to make.
How much do we want to spend protecting our van - would a cheaper wheel clamp take that much less getting off - they'll get it off no matter how expensive.
Where should we now store it? The advice from the Police is not to take it back where it was stolen from. It might seem obvious, but the policeman said they are known to go back and cause damage to the van simply because they didn't get it and they don't want the owner to have the satisfaction of getting it back. Just malicious damage - for the sake of it.
He agreed that vans are sometimes left in case a tracker is fitted, and if no-one comes to recover it, the thieves later return to complete the theft. His advice was if you really value your van and can afford it, the tracker method is by far the best way of recovering a van and perhaps before it gets damaged and contents stolen.
Anyway, I'll finish with a word of caution...... maybe we were too confident that our storage site was too well hidden and with cameras and locked gates, and therefore we had perhaps become complacent. With hindsight, whilst we probably couldn't have done a lot more to prevent its theft, we could have reduced the value of the contents by storing more at home. We had one thing of sentimental value in it and may not get it back - if only I'd removed it. PLEASE consider how you would feel if it were your van stolen tonight, don't live with regret - do what you can, as soon as you can, to protect your van and contents (and your home and vehicles too for that matter!). Whilst it is 'only a van' it has caused a lot of upset and hassle and, unless we're very lucky and forensics lead us to the thieves, I doubt anyone will be caught and charged with this crime and then suitably punished.
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