Fishmonger fuming after £23,000 truck is stolen in the night

A FISHMONGER is fuming after his £23,000 pick-up truck was stolen in the dead of night dealing a bitter blow to his business.

Tim Gardiner, who runs his fish monger stall – Fishy Business - every Friday in Stratford, believes his black Ford Ranger was “stolen to order” last Tuesday 17th January from outside his home near Bidford.

Every morning, Tim, aged 67, gets up at 4 to prepare his trailer and pick-up for his weekly routine selling at markets in Warwick, Kenilworth, Tewkesbury and Stratford where his stall has become a familiar fixture in Rother Street for the last 25 years.

He thinks his truck was stolen around 5am but didn’t notice it missing until 8.15.

“It makes me feel sick,” Tim told the Herald. “I think professional thieves did this and had probably been watching me for a week. I need a truck to tow my trailer. Thankfully a friend has loaned me a pick-up. Now I’m having to go through the insurance company, ring lots of different numbers, press lots of buttons when all I want to do is talk face-to-face with someone over a counter like I used to. I’ve got to borrow money to keep things going – nothing is straightforward nowadays. My last truck was supposed to last for the next two years until I think about retirement. I’ve got a private registration - TRG 30 - which cost me £200 when I bought it aged 20. It could take 6 to 12 months to get things back together again.”

Tim says his customers have been “fantastic” and despite the truck theft he’ll carry on selling fish as he has done for the last 50 years.