Edinburgh couple lose £30k worth of belongings as van and car both stolen in same night

An Edinburgh couple say they have lost about £30,000 worth of belongings after thieves stole a work van and later made off with their car on the same night.

Student nurse Anna Stephen and her partner, electrician Barry Rodman, both 31, were at their home in Mottram Road at about 7pm on Wednesday night and in the process of moving house to Dundee when the culprits struck.

About 30 seconds after closing his front door, Mr Rodman realised he may have dropped the key to his white Ford Transit on the street and dashed outside to discover the van - containing his tools and Anna’s nurse uniform and documents - had been taken.

And the brazen suspects then stole their black Audi A6 estate, which was parked just up the road, as the key for it had been left inside the van.

Anna Stephen and Barry Rodman believe they have lost about £30,000 worth of property.

Speaking to the Edinburgh Evening News, Miss Stephen said: “Half of my life belongings were in there and my partner’s livelihood was in that van. It literally all happened in 30 seconds.

“We are not judgemental people. Everyone has a reason for doing things, be it money or for a laugh, but it’s other people’s lives that are affected - it’s our livelihoods.”

As well as expensive work tools, moving items inside the van included Miss Stephens’ nurse uniform, shoes and documents for both her degree in child nursing at Dundee University and her current placement at the children’s ward at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital.

Clothes, AirPods, an Apple Watch, Louis Vuitton bag and a month’s worth of dog food for their two pets were also inside.

Mr Rodman, who has been an electrician since his late teens, had recently become self-employed after the company he worked for previously was affected by the Covid pandemic.

His work vehicle is described as a white Ford Transit high top with the registration number SD64 XHZ and the black Audi A6 estate has the registration SM07 ZTR.

Following the van theft on Wednesday evening, the couple had taken a drive in a relative’s car to have a look for the van themselves but had no luck. Shortly before 10pm they checked on their Audi and discovered it had also been stolen.

The couple are also having to pay for a locksmith as they keys to their new home were also inside the work van.

Today, they are speaking to insurers to see if any of their losses are covered, and they reckon the total value of property stolen amounts to about £30,000.

Friends have also set up a fundraising page to help them get back on their feet and to pay for some of the stolen tools to help Mr Rodman get back to work.

A post on the GoFundMe page says: “Please donate what you can, and share with as many people as possible and lets help this couple in their time of need.

"Barry is such a selfless guy who would do anything for anyone, let’s try to do something nice for him and his other half.”

Police confirmed they are carrying out inquiries into the thefts.

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