A TRANSIT van was stolen in broad daylight just seconds after a delivery driver was elbowed and knocked to the ground on a Malvern road.
The blue Ford Transit was stolen by a man, believed to be in his early twenties, on Friday (March 18) after the driver parked his vehicle and delivered an item to an address on Redland Road at 1.15pm.
After making his delivery and turning to walk back to his vehicle, the victim noticed an unknown man opening the driver’s door of the van.
Upon challenging the man, the victim was elbowed in the chest by the suspect with enough force to knock him to the floor.
The suspect then grabbed the keys to the van from the victim’s belt, climbed into the driver’s seat and drove off at speed along Redland Road, turning onto Church Road before disappearing from view. The suspect took with the contents of the van along with the victim’s mobile phone and other personal items.
Police have described the offender as being a white male, in his early twenties with a beard and of a stocky build. He was wearing a black baseball cap, a black zip up hooded top and charcoal coloured jeans at the time of the theft.
Yesterday (Saturday) officers in Malvern recovered the van’s number plates in a communal car park on Cowleigh Bank, after being alerted to a suspicious incident by a member of the public.
It is believed that the van may now be carrying the registration FN59YDY after a theft of plates overnight on North Malvern Road.
Investigating officer PC Ian Doidge said: “This appears to be an opportunistic crime as the van is not sign written, nor is it obvious that it is carrying any valuable items. The offender made no attempt to disguise himself and does not appear to have ‘come prepared’.
“The van could still be in the local area and may have been dumped by the thief so I’d ask people to keep their eyes peeled”
Anyone with information about the incident should call West Mercia Police on 101 and quote reference number 0320S 180316 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
