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Slow response angers vidim
Page 12
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A haulier tracked down his stolen truck but was still left out of
pocket. Jennifer Ball reports.
A WEST MIDLANDS operatorhas blamed police after thieves who stole his truck loaded with £70,000 of machinery escaped.
On 19 May a Hampson Haulage vehicle was stolen from Minworth. The firm used its tracking device to locate it and sent a driver to recover the vehicle. But when the police arrived they refused to let him take it as it needed to be forensically examined.
Paul Hampson says that at 8.30am he downloaded the vehicle's movements and found it had stopped at a travellers' site. He passed this information onto West Midlands police but was told to contact Staffordshire police who didn't return his call until five hours later. He later attended the site to find the vehicle has been stripped.
When the police arrived they said that they needed a search war rant, which wasn't granted until 5.45pm. One arrests was then made. Hampson says: "An immediate response would have ensured that more people were arrested.To add insult to injury I was told that my vehicle had been towed to a recovery yard and I would have to pay a £400 towing fee."
Chief Inspector Maurice Mason from Staffordshire police says: "We have received a complaint and the matter is currently being investigated."
jennifer.hall@rbi.co.uk