Music legends Dr Feelgood have been officially reunited with their customised tour van with all of their instruments in time for their German tour - after it was rescued from a suspected chop shop.
The van contained irreplaceable equipment including a guitar that Phil Mitchell, the bass player for the legendary south Essex band, had been using for more than 50 years.
It was stolen from Phil’s driveway in Hockley in the early hours of last Tuesday, but was located the next day after officers from Maldon Community Policing Team were called to a disturbance at a unit in Tolleshunt D'Arcy.
The officers discovered a suspected chop shop – where stolen cars are stripped of their parts or given false identities – and called in the experts from Essex Police's stolen vehicle intelligence unit.
The team's PC Paul Gerrish and PC Phil Pentelow quickly realised the Mercedes Sprinter was the one from the Hockley theft. It was discovered alongside another Sprinter which was in the process of being dismantled.
The thieves had taken CDs, t-shirts and Phil’s golf clubs but the most valuable items, including Phil’s treasured guitar, were still with the van.
PC Paul Gerrish called drummer Kevin Morris the next morning with the good news.
Dr Feelgood’s Phil, Kevin and tour manager Nic Clacy checked the van over before returning to meet the police unit and retrieve their equipment in time for their tour of Germany, which starts tomorrow.
The van will be returned to the band when forensics are completed.
Phil Mitchell said it took him a couple of minutes to realise the van was gone but it quickly dawned on him what a disaster this was for the band.
“I thought it’d be the last time we’d see it. It’s not just the guitar – they’re all our work tools," he said.
“Suddenly you think, ‘What are we going to do next week?’ We’ve got to hire a van, rent equipment, we’ve got to find guitars. It’s endless what you’d have to sort out in a short space of time.
“Then of course, the next day we get a call to say, ‘We’ve got the van and we’ve got a lot of your equipment.’ It was a great relief.”
Drummer Kevin Morris said: “I was on my way to a storage unit to check out one of my other drum kits to see what I’d need to put together to go to Germany when Paul (PC Gerrish) phoned and said, ‘We’ve got the van and it looks like we’ve got the equipment.’ I was delighted.
“I quickly phoned everyone in the band to say we’ve got the stuff and it was panic over.
“It’s miraculous – we never thought we’d see it again. We’re very lucky. There was petrol being poured all over the place and it was about to be torched. It’s extraordinary that we’ve got everything back.”
PC Pentelow said reuniting people with their prized possessions is “the best part of the job”.
“Sometimes the prized possession is a £100,000 supercar, but it might be a guitar or family photos full of memories. Nothing beats the look on people’s faces when we return those priceless items.”
The team works with manufacturers including Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Ford and Mercedes to improve car safety, and have identified or recovered 253 stolen vehicles with a value of £5.3 million so far this year.
He has some simple advice for all vehicle owners who are concerned about security: “Learn your car’s vulnerabilities and head to the website Secured by Design for recommended safety devices. Look at prevention methods and consider different layers of security. Make your car harder to steal than all the other cars on your street.
“A tracker is a last resort but if you are unfortunate enough to have your car taken, it’ll give us the head start in getting your vehicle back in one piece. However, prevention is better than cure.”
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