CCTV shows thieves stealing 13 portable loos during raid on depot
Bizarre video footage captures the moment thieves steal 13 portable toilets during a raid on a business in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
A gang of thieves used angle grinders to break into toilet supplier AndyLoos at around 18:30 on January 8, making off with toilets worth around £12,000.
Chemical fuels and piping were also snatched during the raid.
CCTV footage captured the thieves loading up the toilets onto two vehicles, while a third kept watch outside the depot.
The gang members wore hooded tops and used specialist trolleys to move the toilets around the depot and onto the vehicles, prompting speculation the raid was organised.
‘They’re not chancers. They’ve turned up, they knew what they were doing, they knew what they were going for,’ said Amy Philpot, general manager of AndyLoos.
‘It’s a risk of the trade,’ she told BBC Radio Oxford. ‘We have plastic toilets out in vulnerable areas. They could be on people’s driveways or in fields and you do lose the odd one. But to have your yard broken into is a bit more unheard of.’
Owner Richard Philpot said: ‘Breaking into a yard to deliberately steal toilets, I haven’t heard of that before.
‘They brought their own toilet trolley with them to do it, so they were ready.’
AndyLoos has been in business for around 30 years and owns six toilet depots across the UK. The company supplies portable loos to events such as the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Glastonbury Festival, as well as construction sites up and down the country.
‘It’s a massive inconvenience. Yes, we have insurance that will help cover the cost of it hopefully. But it’s a big hit for us,’ Miss Philpot told the BBC.
(Credits: Aisling Legros)
‘We’ve worked hard over the last 35 years and invest in our fleet and get toilets into depots. We haven’t got them sat there for someone to take away. But somebody thought they’d come and help themselves. It’s not good.’
In a statement, a spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: ‘Thames Valley Police is investigating a burglary in which a number of portaloos, chemical fuel and piping were stolen from a business property in Thorpe Way, Banbury.
‘It was reported to the force yesterday morning (9 January) and occurred at some stage overnight between 8th January and yesterday.
‘Anyone with any information or who believes they witnessed the incident is urged to contact 101, quoting reference 43250012480.’
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