How to avoid the van vandals: six tips
1. Don’t upset your girlfriend when she’s got the keys to your van
A plasterer in Cumbria had to fish his employer’s van out of the harbour after his bride to be put all of his belongings in the back, drove it down the slipway and left it floating in the sea after a row.
When asked about the incident, he said he hadn’t told her the wedding was off, but was sure she’d be able to put two and two together. The harbour had to be drained to retrieve the van.
2. Don’t live in London, and if you can’t avoid London try avoid Enfield if you can
A recent review of claims data by Liverpool Victoria insurance found that Enfield, South East London, Bournemouth and North West London had the highest rates of vehicle vandalism.
3. Don’t buy a posh car
A BMW Z4 is the most common car to be vandalised, followed by other luxury wheels including the Mini One, Mercedes CLK and the Audi TT, according to the vandalism index published by Swiftcare.
4. Don’t leave your ice-cream van unattended
There were several reports of theft and vandalism of ice-cream vans this summer, from Skegness, Scotland and Surrey, where one determined ice cream eating thief gave police an 11 mile chase before driving the wrong way round a roundabout and ramming a police car.
5. Don’t stop on your way through Edinburgh-
or you might find your van gets sprayed.
6. Don’t assume that charities don’t get hit too
In a most depressing story a charity with vans delivering food to the elderly in West Lothian were hit by vandals. Shame on the vandals of West Lothian.
Watch out as well for tribes of rampaging vandals in the night. As in some cases many cars have been attacked in reports of mass vandalism ‘rampages’. In Kingswood in Bristol in April of this year, eleven cars were damaged as vandals hurled paving slaps and threw bricks through vehicle windows. Another case in Uxbridge this June saw countless windscreens and windows smashed as vandals went on an all night rampage creating chaos for drivers the next day. Police said as many as 50 vehicles were damaged causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Both these incidents happened in the small hours of night when vehicle owners were sleeping.