Man arrested after spate of thefts in which entire front end of vehicles have been taken
06.10.2023 - 14:51
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A man has been arrested after a spate of thefts in which vehicles had their entire front end stripped. The incidents have been in Wigan, Westhoughton, Horwich, Pemberton, Billinge, and Chorley.
The eight thefts have alarmed and outraged local communties. It is known that bonnets of vans are being advertised online for sale for around £3,000. One vehicle was reported to have been stripped in 45 minutes in Westhoughton.
The incidents are a new twist on the long established crime of vehicles being stolen, driven to chop shops, and stripped of all parts and then sold online. Audis, BMWs, and Volkswagens are often targeted as parts for them are expensive when bought from legitimate dealers.
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Last month LancsLive reported that a man from Standish, Wigan, woke up in the early hours to find his van's front end had been completely stripped away. David Leyland discovered that the bonnet of his Peugeot Partner had been stolen, as well as some of its internal parts.
This included the air conditioning unit, headlight unit, inter cooler, radiator and power steering. David was left devastated as he requires the use of his van for his work as a self-employed courier.
He told LancsLive: "Well I'm not OK because I can't work. The way they [mechanics] were going on, they're saying it could be like eight weeks. If my theory is right and the parts are in shortage, it could be longer. I've no idea really. 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