A CHARITY has said 2,500 people could be left without food after their delivery vans were stolen. 

Given to Shine, which delivers food parcels to people in need in Flintshire and Wrexham, had two vans stolen after thieves gained access to a site located off Manor Lane in Hawarden. 

The thefts occurred on the evening of February 25, and has left the charity unable to deliver the food parcels to those in need. 

A spokesperson for the charity said: "They were parked on a locked yard on Clwyd Close in Hawarden, we’d just had the 314 model back from Mercedes after finally raising enough money to fix it. At 7.20pm one person jumped over the fence (which is sharp and spiked) and managed to unlock the vans.

"At 9.30pm they returned with a friend, both jumped the fence, failed to cut though the padlock with their angle grinder so drove straight through the gates, taking both vans and damaging the gates too. We have CCTV from all angles thanks to other business owners."

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They continued: "This theft means we cannot deliver food parcels to Wrexham and Flintshire residents. We deliver food to about 2,500 people a week, so this is having a huge impact.  

"We already had to scrap one van last month due to extensive mechanical and electrical issues. We cannot wait weeks and weeks for the insurance to make a decision, we need these vans back immediately to finish the repairs and recommence delivering emergency food to those in need, anonymous and discreetly, as always.

"We don't have the money to replace them currently and the insurance pay out is unlikely to cover two replacements due to the cost of second hand vans soaring, and temperature controlled vans being much harder to come by. A brand new sprinter with the temperature controlled conversion costs around £86,000."

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The charity, which also hands out free food on Christmas Eve at dozens of locations across Flintshire and Wrexham, is making a plea for information in the hope the culprits are found and the vans recovered. 

They said: "Someone must know something, please either contact North Wales Police or, if it was you and you’re reading this, please return our vans or leave them somewhere they can be found. 

"We can go back to delivering food parcels to those who need them most - this could be your loved ones and your actions have drastically impacted their access to emergency support."

Anyone with information that could assist in the police's investigations is asked to contact them, quoting reference number Q027465.