Part-time singer Dawn Kelly, 49, of Eirene Avenue, Goring, discovered her Volkswagen van, which she has owned for 15 years, was missing at around 11pm on Thursday, October 2.

The brazen thieves stole the van from the driveway while Dawn, her husband Martin Whitfield and five dogs sat indoors.

"I'm just heartbroken," said Dawn.

"It really upset me. We were going to take all the dogs up to Highdown in the van, then suddenly there was no van.

"It just feels horrible. Really horrible."

Wedding drive

In May, the couple spent thousands of pounds refurbishing the van – lovingly named Daisy – to drive to their wedding in Ireland.

"It's like a lost pet. That's how it feels," said Dawn. "I've been crying for two days.

"We took her to Ireland with my daughter, Eve (17), two more bridesmaids and four dogs.

"Friends and relations gave us money to help us restore the van instead of wedding presents."

Bikes taken, too

Dawn said she believed the van had been towed or wheeled away as nobody heard the "quite loud" van being driven from the driveway.

The theft was made even worse by the fact the couple had just returned from a cycling event at Blenheim Palace and their two Brompton folding bikes were also inside the van.

"Martin's is green and mine is yellow and turquoise," said Dawn.

"It really couldn't have been worse," said Martin, 56.

"The van looked wonderful after the restoration and we were really looking forward to using it more.

"Losing the bikes as well is terrible, as we use them all the time."

Reward

The couple have offered a reward for information and posted notices around Goring in the hope someone may have seen the van taken.

Dawn and Martin were married at the end of May in Castleblayney, County Monaghan, and then went on honeymoon in Daisy to County Donegal, together their dogs.

Anyone with any information should contact Worthing police on 0845 60 70 999.


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