Bonus find as stolen community van retrieved
The eyes and ears of a community are being praised after the search for a stolen events caravan not only turned up the vehicle but also a van belonging to another charity.
The community events caravan, stolen from a secure lockup in Feilding in the early hours of Wednesday morning, was located that night, much to the relief and delight of owner Richard Anderson.
He said sightings from the public led to it being recovered from an abandoned property in the town, and next to it was a van stolen from Manchester House, a nonprofit social service.
‘‘We got the engagement going on social media and from the newspaper, and it worked, which was fantastic.’’
Word had spread around the community so fast that the thieves must have thought ‘‘This is too hot for us to touch,’’ Anderson said.
‘‘It’s the power of the people and the power of the press.’’
Security footage from the McDonald’s fast food restaurant on Stafford St showed two people in dark clothing break into a secure lockup next door at 4.30am on Wednesday.
They used a grinder to break the padlocked gate before hitching the caravan to a white Mazda van.
They drove out onto Stafford St, headed north and turned onto Bowen St.
Anderson said additional surveillance footage has been offered to police, who were investigating the vehicle thefts.
The caravan, fitted out as a mobile office, was routinely provided for free to groups for events.
Anderson had bought it several years ago for Relay For Life, when he chaired the charitable event.
He said it was worrying and sad that offenders had targeted vehicles belonging to grassroots causes, and that a secure yard was not enough to protect a community asset.
The thieves had started scraping the signage from the caravan, so it would need mending, but otherwise it was largely unscathed.
Additional security measures were being considered.
Anderson said he was grateful that so many people had their eagle eyes on alert. Two people even called late on Wednesday after spotting the caravan heading up Kimbolton Rd.
‘‘But it was me taking it home. People were really on the case, and I really appreciate it.’’
Manchester House executive manager Ann Williamson said one of its two after-school care vans had been stolen from outside the Grey St centre overnight last Friday.
Its decals and seats had been removed and the ignition broken. ‘‘It’s just another one of those knocks for Feilding in terms of criminality.’’
A local business, Automotive Direct, had provided a loan van at a discounted rate while police and insurers assessed the van.