Walthamstow couple who donate beds to struggling families devastated after van is stolen

An East London couple who donate beds to the needy, are desperate to find their Salvation Army van after it was stolen last weekend. David Pell and his wife Julie, from Walthamstow, revealed in a Facebook post that their van had been brazenly stolen on a residential road in Leyton in the afternoon.

The couple, who run Sally in the Stow – a Salvation Army branch in Walthamstow – posted the tragic news on Facebook two days ago, and the post has already racked up almost 1,000 shares. David, 56, who has been running the shop with his wife since 2017, was informed of the theft by a staff driver after he returned to the street on Tuesday morning (February 8) to an empty parking space.

David was stunned by the news, and immediately reported the suspected crime to the police. He told MyLondon how eager both him and his wife are to have their van returned, so that vulnerable residents won’t have to miss out on beds and furniture promised to them this week.

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David and Julie Pell posted the “sad news” on Facebook and the post has already racked up almost 1000 shares

He said: “We use the van to pick up and deliver furniture free of charge to vulnerable families in the community that are referred through places like social services. We also donate beds and mattress to female refugees and victims of modern slavery – especially when people are rehoused. There’s quite an issue at the moment with locals being placed in accomodation without beds so we just try to support our community in any way we can.

“It was parked on a residential road in front of houses, so I’ll have to start putting notes through doors if we don’t hear anything soon. We’re all frustrated because we can’t do the work that we need to do.”

Even more frustrating is that the couple have been forced to suspend business operations for the last few days while they urgently hunt their missing van, which they purchased only 18 months ago.

He told MyLondon: “We also use the van to support ourselves financially, and business has had to stop for the last few days while we hunt down the van. Some items were scheduled for pick up this week, but we were unable to make them and so we’ve had to delay business.”

But the Pells are hopeful that their van will turn up soon – a hope instilled by the enormous feedback they’ve received since first posting the news on their ‘The Salvation Army – Walthamstow Community Church & Charity Shop’ Facebook page. The couple have been inundated with news of possible sightings of the van.

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Labour MP for Walthamstow, Stella Creasy, has appealed for the “dirtbag who stole their van” to return it to the couple

“We put a post up on our Facebook to help us get the van back and in one day it reached about 55,000 people according to the stats,” said David. “We’re hoping someone is still running around with it so it can be spotted and we can get it back. At first I wondered if it has been taken, had the signs removed, been resprayed and passed on through a criminal network, but we’ve heard from people who said they’ve seen the van. One of the sightings was in a local Tesco car park near the recycling area which I followed up. It was last seen on Saturday morning.”

Walthamstow Labour MP Stella Creasy has also appealed for the “dirtbag who stole their van” to have it returned to the couple. She wrote on Twitter: “Don’t make me lose hope in humanity – Walthamstow’s Salvation Army have helped so many vulnerable people in our community.”

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She added: “Yesterday some dirtbag stole their actual van – complete with the logo. If you can help get it returned or replaced get in touch.”

The Salvation Army is both a Protestant Christian church and a charitable organisation, first founded in London in 1865. Its founders sought to bring salvation to the poor, destitute, and hungry. If you have seen the van, or for more information, please email: [email protected]

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