Essex charity condemns thieves who stole van: "It's an extraordinary act of inhumanity"
The van helped raise £60,000 a year to help ill children
A charity has condemned thieves who stole a van used to raise vital funds for children’s hospices.
The branded East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) vehicle was taken from a car park behind the organisation’s Clacton shop, in North Road, on Monday night.
It is used to collect and deliver furniture donations, and to ferry stock to EACH’s other North Essex stores in Colchester, Dovercourt and Halstead.
Over £60,000 a year is generated from the furniture collected, with they money being used to support families and care for children and young people with life-threatening conditions.
EACH Chief Executive Phil Gormley said: “We were shocked and saddened when we discovered the van had been stolen on Monday night.
“Those responsible are, quite simply, heartless. It seems incomprehensible anyone could stoop so low, given what the van is used for...
"I was in the police for 35 years, so not much surprises me, but this is the lowest of the low.
"To steal a van that is branded and covered in EACH livery, there's absolutely no doubt as to what the van is or who it belongs to.
"This is having a real impact on our ability to help some of the most vulnerable, life-limited children in North Essex. It's just an extraordinary act of inhumanity."
The white Ford box van (registration number: FY63 OUM), which had a tail-lift, was parked behind the North Road shop, in the car park off Ravensdale.
It was fitted with a tracking device which has since been disabled. The last activity suggests it was driven away shortly after 10.30pm.
Phil says the impact is greater than some might imagine: "We need to raise 85% of what it takes to run our charity through either our shops or through charitable giving - that's 85% of £15 million we need to raise to help some of the most vulnerable children.
"These vans are absolutely vital in helping us to do this by moving stock between our shops, collecting stock and charitable donations of furniture.
"It's not just the loss of the van which, in and of itself, is really problematic because it is very hard to get hold of replacement vehicles at the moment, it's also the impact it's had on our ability to function...
"It's deeply affected the staff, our volunteers and the children and their families that we help and it's simply an act by complete low-lives."
Police are now looking for anyone who saw anything, has CCTV, dash cam or doorbell footage to come forward.