Police seize van linked to charity clothing thefts

A van linked to the nationwide thefts of clothing from charity banks has been stopped and searched by police.

The Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit said officers pulled over a white Vauxhall Movano on Whitehorse Street in Baldock, Hertfordshire.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of theft and the vehicle was seized.

Robin Osterley, chief executive of the Charity Retail Association, said his team was "delighted to see that any perpetrator of this unpleasant crime is being held to account".

"Our members find it incredibly dispiriting when items that have been generously donated by the public are stolen and therefore deprive charities of much-needed income," he said.

In a social media post published on Wednesday, police said the seizure came after they received intelligence that "was spot on".

It has not been revealed which charities were affected by this latest incident.

The Salvation Army, which operates about 8,000 clothing banks in the UK, said it hoped cases like this would not put the public off donating.

The charity visits its clothing banks on a regular, often daily, basis, and replaces "damaged locks immediately".

"We are grateful to the police for their diligence in investigating this issue," a spokesperson said.

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