£500 reward to find stolen van man claims police are ‘too busy’ to find

A man whose van was stolen has stumped up a £500 reward for anyone who can help him find it, as he claims the police told him they were “too busy” to help.

Ed McCarthy, 38, is a carpenter from Chichester whose grandmother has lived in Knatchbull Road in Camberwell for 55 years.

He was helping her move into a care home when his van was stolen from outside the house on Thursday evening of last week.

“It’s a bit sickening,” said Ed. “I’m sort of stuck up here now without the van. I’ve had to postpone a load of work and I’m trying to get my granny’s house in order.

“I last saw the van on Thursday at around 7.30pm, then noticed the next morning it was gone. I asked the neighbours and they said at 10pm it was gone. It’s gutting.

“I went to Brixton police station and they said there was nothing they could do and they didn’t have time to look for it.”

The van had about £1,000 worth of tools in the cab as well as Ed’s clothes, which he says were all hidden out of sight.

The van does not have a tracker and Ed claimed the police told him that it would be too hard to trace using CCTV.

But Ed said he was keen to find it as soon as possible as a common practice among thieves is to leave a stolen vehicle in another area and wait to see if someone comes to find it using a tracking device.

The carpenter hopes to find the van as soon as possible before it is potentially moved on from wherever it is.

“It’s ironic because the van is not ULEZ compliant and I’ve been paying £12.50 every day I’ve had it in London, but the police say they can’t help me find it using CCTV even though it’s being picked up by the ULEZ cameras.

“It’s on autopay as well, so I’ve been paying for it since it was stolen.

“We need a system for when vehicles are stolen since the police say they can’t help. On the Nextdoor website for Camberwell all I see is posts about cars being stolen.”

There is a £500 reward for information that leads to the van being returned to Ed. If you have any information please get in touch with the South London Press.

A Met spokesman said: “Police were contacted on the morning of January 27 after a vehicle was stolen from Knatchbull Road, Lambeth, the previous day. There have been no arrests.

“The case has been closed as there are no CCTV, witnesses or forensics. Should any investigative opportunities come to light they will of course be assessed.”

Pictured top: Ed McCarthy moves tools out his van (Picture: Aneeta Pattni)