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Kitchen fitter John Eves, from Prescot, who has been unable to work since his van was stolen
A SELF-employed kitchen fitter says he is willing to offer “a substantial reward” for information which leads to the recovery of his stolen van.
John Eves’ white Ford Transit was pinched by opportunist thieves as he dropped off a birthday present for a friend along Bryer Road in Prescot at about 1pm on February 21.
Amazingly, it was the second time the 62-year-old’s van had been targeted by thieves in less than three months.
Mr Eves, left, said: “I was only in the house for about five minutes but when I went back outside my van had gone. I know it was a stupid thing to do but I had left my keys inside. I thought I would only be a minute.
“The police came straight away and were brilliant. They shot around the area to try to find where the van had gone and then came back and took a statement.
“The thief must have been someone local. It was obviously just an opportunist thing.”
Mr Eves’ van is a white, high-roof, long wheel base Ford Transit with the registration number BD06 UJW - although he fears the plates may already have been switched to enable the thieves to evade capture.
There was also around £3,000 worth of tools inside the van at the time, including a saw bench, power tools, a cordless drill and a Black and Decker workmate.
Mr Eves, of Eccleston Park, who also had more than £3,500 in cash stolen from his van in similar circumstances over Christmas, says he feels “lost” without it.
He added: “I’ve been to a couple of car boot sales to see if any of my tools show up but there’s no sign of them so far.
“The main problem is that I can’t work now. I’m desperate to get the van back. I’m stuck at the moment. I honestly thought I would have had a call from the police by now to say that the van had been found.
“I know it’s my fault for leaving the keys in the van but that doesn’t automatically mean that I deserved for have it stolen.
“If I came across a van with the keys inside I’d let the owners know.”
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Wednesday 19 June 2013
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