A DELIVERY van belong to a small independent business was stolen in broad daylight in Penarth last week.

Rachel Thomas and her husband run free-range egg business Cyw Hapus Free Range Eggs, and provide a delivery service to residents of Penarth.

Ms Thomas said: “Last Thursday morning while our driver was in the back of our a Citroen Dispatch van on Westbourne Road, arranging stock, someone got in and drove off.

“We would like to appeal to residents and businesses firstly to warn of vehicle thefts in the run up to Christmas.

“We would however also like to ask whether anyone with CCTV could review footage around the time of the event, in the hope that our vehicle and its contents could be recovered.”

The white van had the numberplate SA66NCD, with a satellite navigation system wired into the dashboard, to the right of the steering wheel.

It also has a dashboard camera attached to the centre of the windscreen.

“The van was vital to our business,” said Ms Thomas. “The vehicle drove off with the doors open so we are hoping someone may have witnessed the vehicle stopping.

“We believe it was later seen in Cogan minus its registration plates.

“We have had a good response through Facebook but it would be really helpful if anyone else could get in touch with any information.

“We also want to see if any of the stock on the van could be located.”

In the van were around 150 light blue boxes of six eggs each, with an expiry date of December 16.

These blue boxes were in larger brown boxes.

Ms Thomas said: “If you work in the catering industry or you are out walking this weekend and find any of these items abandoned, please contact the police.

“A sobering thought for us in all this was that our son’s car seat was strapped to the front of the van.

“On another day he could easily have been in it.

“We are a hard working rural business with a young family.

“That van was vital to us, so we would be so grateful for any help.”

If you have any information about the whereabouts of the van or its stock, contact South Wales Police on 101 quoting incident number 1900429738.