Appeal after Bristol electrician's work van stolen in Wickersley

AN ELECTRICIAN spending Christmas with his girlfriend’s family in Wickersley returned from a shopping trip to find his work van had been stolen.
Electrician Dom Lercier is spending Christmas in Wickersley with his girlfriend, Charlotte BealeElectrician Dom Lercier is spending Christmas in Wickersley with his girlfriend, Charlotte Beale
Electrician Dom Lercier is spending Christmas in Wickersley with his girlfriend, Charlotte Beale

AN ELECTRICIAN spending Christmas with his girlfriend’s family in Wickersley returned from a shopping trip to find his work van had been stolen yesterday (Thursday).

Dom Lercier (38), of Bristol, had driven the van - which has the number plate PF12 NVC and LA Electricals branding on its side - hundreds of miles up to Rotherham and parked on Bawtry Road over Christmas.

But when he returned from a shopping trip to Meadowhall with girlfriend Charlotte Beale (26) he found the white Ford Transit had been stolen along with thousands of pounds worth of tools and equipment which had been left inside.

The electrician, who is due back at work on Thursday, said: “I have got no toolbag and no hand tools and I can’t do my job without any tools."

Dom and Charlotte went out yesterday afternoon at around 1pm and returned at 10.30pm after hitting the sales and visiting family.

“We pulled up and I said; ‘Where’s my van?’, and that was it, I realised it had been stolen," said Dom.

“I went and knocked on the neighbour’s house, where the van had been parked outside of, and they got back at 3pm and the van was still outside. So we think it was taken between 3pm and 10.30pm.”

Dom, who has worked for Bristol-based LA Electrical Services for five years, said he had thankfully left the majority of his tools in Bristol but estimated the van and equipment were worth around £10,000 in total.

“It’s got my work table, ladders and some personal belongings too, and my electrical testing kit," he said.

“I parked it on a main road in plain sight and there would have been a lot of people around.”

“It’s not the best time of year for it to happen but I can’t help when my van gets stolen,” he said.

“The police told me that when a work vehicle is stolen it’s usually stolen for a purpose — they steal it because they believe it’s got some value inside it.”

Dom said the police were looking out for the registration plate number and he hoped it would be picked up.

“I didn’t leave much fuel in the van — I only left about 20 to 30 miles in the tank — so hopefully they haven’t got very far," he said.

“And if they had the audacity to fill it up at a fuel station then hopefully they have been picked up on CCTV.”

Dom said he was spending Christmas and New Year with his girlfriend’s family for the second time.

“I can’t get back down to Bristol [in the van] so I’ll have to go in my girlfriend’s car and we have got two lots of suitcases and presents from family and friends,” he said.

Anyone with any information about theft should contact South Yorkshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 14/188050/18.

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