I woke up to find the front of my Peugeot Partner van was gone… I thought it was a crash but CCTV showed the truth | The Sun
A DAD was left stunned when the front end of his Peugeot Partner van disappeared overnight – only for CCTV to show him the truth.
David Leyland woke on Tuesday morning to discover the motor's bonnet, bumper and some important components had been ripped off.
Initially, he thought it was down to another driver smashing into the van while he slept, but a closer look showed that the removal was too precise for that.
Fortunately, the CCTV system at his home in Standish, Greater Manchester, was able to reveal what really happened.
David was left devastated when he watched the footage back and saw a pair of balaclava-clad thugs making off with half his car.
He looked on in shock as they tiptoed back and forth seven times between the van and their own car, removing a few more parts each time.
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All in all, they pinched the front section of the bodywork, the headlight unit, the intercooler, the radiator, the aircon unit and the power steering system.
These parts can be worth several hundreds of pounds second-hand, which may explain the ludicrous crime.
Alternatively, the thieves may have stolen them in order to splice into their own vans on the cheap.
David told Lancashire Live: "They've not even had to break into my car, smash the windows or anything.
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"So the alarms haven't gone off, no sensors have been triggered, they've just stripped it from the front. It's crazy."
Self-employed David uses his van for work and now faces a potential wait of up to eight weeks for new parts, all while trying to square the bizarre situation with his insurance company.
He added: "I'm trying to get through to my finance company to see if they will pause my payments and then I can hire a van and carry on working.
"I can't pay for that van and hire a van at the same time, I don't earn enough to do it."
David also claimed that there have been similar crimes nearby, including a bonnet theft, and that he has reported what happened to his van to Greater Manchester Police.
The force has been contacted for comment.
It comes after EV owners were given tips on how to protect their cars after thefts were revealed to be on the up.
Meanwhile, an experienced car salesman explained why just nine words should send customers running a mile from a dealership.
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