Cardiff business owner ‘devastated’ after fleet of vans and £45,000 worth of tools stolen
A company owner in Cardiff has told of how thugs broke into his premises and stole all of his work vehicles. The sophisticated theft happened at My Property Pros property cleaning company at Portmanmoor industrial estate off Ocean Way in Cardiff[1] over a weekend when the business was closed between September 19 and 22.
While the company managed to find two of the vehicles in Cardiff in the following days, around GBP45,000 worth of equipment from inside the vans hasn't been recovered. Oli Ford, owner of the business in Splott, said he's convinced the thieves must have known the business well and had either been into the premises before or had been watching closely to have carried out the theft.
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Oli, who had twins four weeks ago, said he's been "devastated" by what has happened and his business has lost all its reserves following the harrowing incident. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here[2][3]
Oli Ford said he has lost his livelihood following the raid last month but he has thanked the community for their support -Credit:Jonathon Hill/Media Wales
The thieves had left the place tidy, even locking up behind them, adding to the confusion, Oli told WalesOnline. He recalled: "When I arrived here on the morning of Monday, September 22 I saw they'd ripped off the key safe.
"It was very annoying but I thought someone was just being mean.
I came back down with a spare set of keys but then once I got inside I realised the whole unit had been completely stripped. Advertisement Advertisement
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"It was very targeted. They filled the vans with petrol jet washers, all the gutter vacuums, electric hose reels, so contents wise we've lost about GBP45,000 worth of kit from the vans.
So even though we've got two vans back there isn't much left of my business. It's really heartbreaking."
Oli said his unit at Ocean Way in Splott has been 'completely stripped' -Credit:Jonathon Hill/Media Wales
Oli said one of the worst things about what has happened is how those who did it must have known a lot about his business. He said: "They must have known when we were here, when we weren't here, where all the kit was, exactly what we had in there.
"That's very unsettling.
You think you have a growing business and a secure unit and you walk in one day and my livelihood is completely gone.
"I don't think we ever could have envisaged that all of our vans could have been stolen. My thinking is they must have sat across the road a few times and decided how and what they would do. Advertisement
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"It's knocked my confidence completely.
Obviously there is a huge financial loss. I've got nothing left in the bank. But it's also the mental side and that's probably the worst.
It's shocked me and has really knocked me."
The vans were discovered dumped near to the David Lloyd gym off the A4232 but the other hasn't been found. "When we found them there was basically nothing left in them," Oli recalled. "They clearly didn't want the vans, they wanted all our equipment from inside them."
Oli showed how most of his kit was stolen from the vans with little left -Credit:Jonathon Hill/Media Wales
He has thanked those who have contributed to a fundraiser, which you can visit here[4], to support the business. Loved ones and friends have rallied behind Oli and his employees by donating more than GBP1,500 to try and get him back on his feet.
He said: "I want to thank everyone who has helped and supported us. Thanks for the shares on social media, thanks for the messages of support.
It's been a really horrible time but knowing I've had that support network has been really nice." Advertisement Advertisement
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Anyone who has any information is asked to contact South Wales Police[5] by calling 101, quoting reference 2500303878.
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References
- ^ Cardiff (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ Don't miss a court report by signing up (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ to our crime newsletter here (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.gofundme.com)
- ^ South Wales Police (www.walesonline.co.uk)
- ^ our WhatsApp community here (chat.whatsapp.com)
- ^ Privacy Notice (www.reachplc.com)