Crooks scoop JCB

A JCB similar to the one stolen

BRAZEN crooks drove off in £47,500 worth of diggers and construction machinery from the roadworks at Charlie Brown's roundabout.

Causing even more delays to the disruptive roadworks between the Waterworks roundabout and Charlie Brown's on the North Circular, the thieves commandeered the heavy plant vehicles last weekend.

They lumbered off in a JCB digger valued at £16,000, a Schaef five tonne excavating machine worth £26,500 and a concrete breaker attachment worth over £5,000.

The hire vehicles were being used by building firm Ashmac Construction Limited of Northampton which has been redesigning the bus stop and realigning the kerbs in a slip-road off Charlie Brown's roundabout.

The company is working alongside another construction firm which is carrying out the major resurfacing works between the Waterworks and Charlie Brown's roundabouts.

Ashmac Construction director Greg Emonds said that both vehicles had been fitted with tracking devices but the thieves are believed to have disabled the gadgets, preventing police covering their tracks.

He said: "Losing this machinery is going to cost us an arm and a leg as our insurance costs will rocket. We are only a small firm trying to make a living and some dirty pig comes along and does this to us.

"I was telephoned over the weekend and told what had happened. It ruined my weekend. The lads left the vehicles parked up on the Friday they are easy to start if you know how."

He added: "They've got tracking devices but these can be shorted out by sticking welding rods on them. We lost a day's work as we had to rehire a different set of machinery."

An Ilford police spokeswoman said: "The thieves drove off in the vehicles between 5pm last Friday and midday on Sunday.

"We would be keen to hear from any motorists or residents who saw heavy plant machinery being driven along the road last weekend. They may have even seen them discarded."

Anybody who saw any construction vehicles being driven along the road at any time should contact the crime management unit on 8345 2779.

09:13 Friday 14th February 2003

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