Vanished_ Family left with nothing after white van removal men stole possessions

A YOUNG family has been left with virtually nothing after a dodgy “man with a van” from a Facebook page drove off with £10,000 of their belongings.
Becky Szenk, 22, and fiancé Mark Higgins, 28, had booked a removal firm to move possessions from their flat to a nearby apartment above the pub they manage.
But after two removal men from the firm, named Lee Green, arrived in a van to pack up the family’s property the Facebook page was taken down and the men have not been heard of since.
Among the items taken last Friday from the flat in Walsall, West Midlands, were a fridge freezer, a washing machine, furniture and clothing along with all of the family’s photographs and Becky’s engagement ring.

The family have been left devastated Caters News Agency

After they finished loading the van the men, who were described as courteous and polite and spoke with Black Country accents, vanished without a trace.
Now the only possession left is the family’s TV, which they took with them in their car to prevent it being damaged in the move.
Devastated Becky said: “The removal men were racing in and out of the flat.
“We just thought they were being very professional. But once they drove away we didn’t see them again.
“The only thing that didn’t go was the television, and that’s only because we moved that ourselves in the car as we were worried about it getting damaged.
“Everything we own was packed into that van. It all happened so quickly, around 45 minutes from start to finish.
“They were supposed to meet my partner at the pub but never turned up. We have been left with virtually nothing.”

Becky with no goods in her kitchen Caters News Agency

Mum Becky and Mark, who have a seven-month-old baby Ariyah together, have invested all of their money into the pub the Horse and Jockey.
When Mark called Becky an hour after the removal men left to say there was no sign of their possessions, the couple realised something was wrong.
Becky said: “The men had told me in advance to pack all of our belongings into boxes and label them up clearly.
“I didn’t realise at the time, but they took the most valuable items first.
“When I commented on how fast they were completing their work, one of them told me, ‘we have a lot of jobs on today’.
“I have never cried more in my life than I did on Friday afternoon. I am so distraught that they have taken my engagement ring and my baby’s toys.”

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The family have had to rely on the kindness of strangers to get back on their feet.
Becky added: “We were in our new home on Friday night, but it wasn’t a home, it was four walls. We didn’t even have a blanket to sleep under.
“Some people have come forward recently to provide us with essentials, but we still don’t have everything.
“I have to put my daughter first and it is important that she is looked after before Mark and I have what we need to live.
“It’s left us absolutely heartbroken. We can get new furniture but the personal stuff cannot be replaced.
“For us it’s been a big lesson to learn. I just hope others can be more careful about trusting people they book over social media as I would hate for this to happen to anyone else.”

Becky contacted removal men via Facebook Alamy

Cops confirmed they are investigating and treating the crime as theft.
West Midlands Police spokeswoman Gina Lycett, said: “Police are investigating a theft after a family from Bilston hired a ‘man with a van’ to help them move house, advertised on a social networking site.
“A van was loaded with the family’s belongings from Mount Pleasant in Bilston on September 25. The van never arrived at their new home in Walsall.
“Detectives continue to investigate the theft and are appealing to anyone with information to call West Midlands Police on 101.”