Gardener is ‘devastated’ by theft of van and tools

FUNDING APPEAL LAUNCHED TO HELP HIM

A GARDENER has been left thousands of pounds out of pocket and unable to work after his van was stolen from his drive.

Allen Terry, 57, said tools were also stolen during the incident just days before Christmas.

The self-employed dad-of-two, who lives in Hill Drive, Bingham, said: “We were all asleep.

“I woke up on the 22nd [December] and my son said to me as he was going to work, ‘where is your van?’ I said it’s on the drive.

“He said ‘no it’s not’ and that was it. It must have happened overnight.

“The fact is someone went outside about nine in the evening and it was still on the drive then – that was on the 21st.

“I’m devastated, to be honest. The more I stop and think about it there’s so much I’ve lost.

“I’ve lost, at the moment, my entire livelihood.

“I have got the work out there, I have got the customers, but I can’t do it.

“I haven’t got the tools, I haven’t got the transport. I’ve lost the entire tools, I’ve lost everything.”

He has been left more than £5,000 out of pocket on the tools which were stolen.

He also believes the Ford Transit was worth between £4,000 and £6,000.

Thed van’s resgistration number is: GA10 DEN.

Mr Terry added: “I am waiting to hear from the insurance, when the insurance gets back then I know roughly what money I have got to play with in order to look for another van and then take it from there.”

He didn’t have CCTV cameras installed at the time of the incident but he and his family now have them.

After hearing what happened, local resident Nigel Regan set up an online fundraising page on which more than £860 has been pledged towards a replacement van.

Mr Regan, 46, who owns a hotel in Bingham with his wife, said: “The goal was to raise money for him.

“I’m using my voice to help him to raise money and to communicate with the community in order to gather funds and donations.

“I’m quite careful not to make this about me and to ensure it is entirely about him and getting his van back on the road.

“The goal was to get £750 to bridge the gap between what he would get through insurance and just help him to get a deposit towards getting the van back on the road.”

Mr Terry said people had been “so generous” and added: “I do not know how to thank people enough.”

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: “Nottinghamshire Police is investigating a report of a van theft from Hill Drive in Bingham.

“The incident is believed to have taken place between 8pm on 21 December 2020 and 7am on 22 December 2020.

“Anyone who witnessed the incident, saw something suspicious or has any CCTV footage in the area is asked to contact Nottinghamshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 79 of 22 December 2020.”

Money can be pledged to the fundraising page at www.gofundme.com/f/ get-allen-a-replacement-transit-van