Darcy Lever: Bolton couple's caravan stolen after being locked up

Debra Grimshaw, a 56-year-old administrative worker from Egerton, found out on her birthday that her caravan had been stolen.

She says the caravan was locked up at Cove Caravan Storage in Darcy Lever, which was broken into on February 14.

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Debra said: “We had a wheel lock that they’ve angle grinded off and left on the floor.

Debra and Willow the dog enjoying the caravan (Image: Debra Grimshaw)

“It had a hitch lock as well but that was still on it. When I spoke to the people, we bought it off they said they’ll have chained it to the back of the car, and they’ll get that off when they get it to where they’ve taken it."

READ MORE: Bolton police investigating after caravan stolen in Horwich

Debra and her husband Paul bought the caravan in 2020, which was new at the time.

She said: “At today’s prices, because they’ve gone up about eight grand, for me to get like-for-like I’m looking at about £29,000.

“It’s massive.

The stolen caravan (Image: Debra Grimshaw)

“Coachman is one of the better makes and my caravan was an entry level, but you can pay £50,000.

“And even just the contents. Two awnings, that’s a grand. A TV. All sorts of stuff.”

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Debra says she’s been through a “roller coasters of emotions” since she found out.

“When I first got the call, I was out for lunch with colleagues, and I was just absolutely gutted.

“And then you think, ‘I don’t want another one because I don’t want this to happen again’.

“And then you look at your lifestyle – we have a dog so that doesn’t make it as easy to just nip away for weekends or weeks because you’ve got to go to dog-friendly places and the caravan was just perfect for that.”

Willow the dog, enjoying the caravan (Image: Debra Grimshaw)

Debra says Cove was to her to be a professional, secure, well-run facility.

“We moved it to that place in March last year. It was really difficult to get storage because caravan sales have really taken off in the last few years.

“We had to make an appointment first and they didn’t let us in to the storage, I presume as a security measure. They only let us on the day we turned up with the caravan.

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“I don’t know what else you can do other than to have it behind locked gates and to have a wheel lock and a hitch lock on it.”

The incident has been reported to Greater Manchester Police.

A spokesperson for the force said: "On Thursday, February 16 at approximately 12:41pm, Greater Manchester Police received reports of a stolen caravan on Radcliffe Road, Bolton.

"No arrests have been made yet but enquires are ongoing."

Cove Caravan Storage declined to comment.