AN ELDERLY couple have been left devastated after a van they lovingly converted into a motorhome was stolen from outside their home.

Tina and Robert Deesley, both in their 70s, brought a Mercedes Sprinter Van last January and have spent several thousand pounds converting it into a motorhome.

The pair, who live in Central Avenue, Ashingdon, had kitted the van out with windows, a cooker as well as a sink and toilet and were planning to drive to Spain at the start of March.

The van cost £5,000 and conversion cost a further £3,000, and the theft has left them out of pocket and with their holiday cancelled.

Tina said: “My husband bought the van early last year, maybe January time, and it took him six months to get it in full working order.

“We had almost got it completely finished, he just had a few little bits to do before it was stolen.

“We had been looking around at motorhomes, and they were so expensive we thought we would be better off doing this, at least that way it can be a project for my husband.

“We have a space out in Spain, and we recently have taken on a dog who comes out to Spain with us.

“We were planning to go from March but that looks unlikely now.”

The pair woke up on Wednesday morning to find that their pride and joy had disappeared, but there was no sign of a break-in.

Tina fears that a gadget called a ‘relay box’ may have been used to pick up the car key signal and unlock the car.

She added: “We are devastated.

“We just keep looking out the window hoping it appears but we know that is not likely.

“They didn’t break into the house, we still have the keys, I have heard about these devices they use to pick up the signal from the car key.

“A few days before there was a man hanging around outside with a computer, I didn’t think about it then but you do wonder.”

Tina admitted she has heard of a number of car thefts in the area recently, and fears the van may have been targeted because it is so unique.

She said: “I think it was targeted, almost definitely.

“The van is so unique, it is literally one of a kind, so I do think someone has spotted it.”