Essex music legends Dr Feelgood reunited with tour van and stolen music equipment

Essex music icons Dr Feelgood say their reunion with their stolen tour van and music equipment is nothing short of a "miracle". The van contained equipment including a guitar that bass player Phil Mitchell had been used for more than half a century.

The van was taken from Phil’s driveway in Hockley in the early hours of April 16 but was located the next day after officers from Maldon Community Policing Team were called to a disturbance at a unit in Tolleshunt D'Arcy. The officers discovered a suspected chop shop – a place where stolen vehicles are stripped of their parts or given false identities – and called in the experts from the Stolen Vehicle Intelligence Unit (SVIU).

The Mercedes Sprinter was recognised as the one from the Hockley theft and was recovered. It was discovered alongside another Sprinter that was in the process of being dismantled. They were reunited with their equipment just days before they were due to tour in Germany.

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The thieves had taken CDs, t-shirts and Phil’s golf clubs but the most valuable items, including Phil’s treasured guitar, were still with the van. Both vehicles were removed and taken to a secure location.

PC Paul Gerrish called drummer Kevin Morris the next morning with the good news. Dr Feelgood’s Phil, Kevin and tour manager Nic Clacy checked the van over before returning to meet the SVIU team and retrieve their equipment ahead of their tour of Germany, which starts on Friday (April 26). Phil Mitchell said it took him a couple of minutes to realise the van was gone when he got up on the Tuesday morning but it quickly dawned on him what a disaster this was for the band.

He said: "I thought it’d be the last time we’d see it. It’s not just the guitar – they’re all our work tools. Suddenly you think, ‘What are we going to do next week?’ We’ve got to hire a van, rent equipment, we’ve got to find guitars. It’s endless what you’d have to sort out in a short space of time.

“Then of course, the next day we get a call to say, ‘We’ve got the van and we’ve got a lot of your equipment.’ It was a great relief.”

Drummer Kevin Morris said: "I was on my way to a storage unit to check out one of my other drum kits to see what I’d need to put together to go to Germany when Paul (Gerrish of SVIU) phoned and said, ‘We’ve got the van and it looks like we’ve got the equipment.’ I was delighted. I quickly phoned everyone in the band to say we’ve got the stuff and it was panic over.

“It’s miraculous – we never thought we’d see it again. We’re very lucky. There was petrol being poured all over the place and it was about to be torched. It’s extraordinary that we’ve got everything back.”

The SVIU’s Phil Pentelow said reuniting people with their prized possessions is “the best part of the job”. He said: "Sometimes the prized possession is a £100k supercar, but it might be a guitar or family photos full of memories. Nothing beats the look on people’s faces when we return those priceless items."

PC Pentelow has some simple advice for all vehicle owners who are concerned about security: “Learn your car’s vulnerabilities and head to the website Secured by Design for recommended safety devices. Look at prevention methods and consider different layers of security. Make your car harder to steal than all the other cars on your street.

“A tracker is a last resort but if you are unfortunate enough to have your car taken, it’ll give us the head start in getting your vehicle back in one piece. However, prevention is better than cure.”