Car worth just £60 stolen in raid on Mickleton Service Station

A RALLY driver whose garage was struck by callous car thieves says he is beefing up security.
Mickleton Service Station was raided on the night of Monday, November 13, and three cars were taken.
A black Vauxhall Corsa and a silver Saab convertible have been recovered but police are still searching for a black VW Passat.
Manager Alistair Hutchinson said his team had lost a day’s worth of work from dealing with the burglary.
“We’ve had somebody in who should not be here and you feel you have probably had them in for fuel at some point,” he added.
“Everyone coming into the shop has been sorry to hear what’s happened and said how disgusting it is.
“They pinched a lot of Mars bars and the poppy appeal box – we’ve had quite a few people donate to that and we put in our spare change. It shows a total disregard.”
The stolen Corsa was found abandoned in Middleton-in-Teesdale last Tuesday. Mr Hutchinson couldn’t understand the criminals' motives.
“I cannot see why they’ve pinched them – they have no value,” he said. “The Corsa would only be worth £60 for scrap and you’d think scrap dealers would click on where the cars had come from.”
Among the other losses was a safe found bent and empty in a nearby field.
“They had a right go at getting into it,” said Mr Hutchinson. “There was maybe £100 in there – it looks like they threw it away in disgust.”
Mr Hutchinson, from Eggleston, is one of Teesdale’s highest ranked rally drivers and one of the best on Tarmac in the North of England. The 45-year-old was relieved his high performance motor was elsewhere during the raid.
“Thank God the rally car wasn't parked here,” he said.
“They pinched the keys but thankfully I've got another key barrel going on it.”
Business has returned to normal at the garage with motorists gearing up for winter. 
Mr Hutchinson said the police had been “spot on” in their response and vowed to install new CCTV cameras.
“We will have to up our security measures,” he added.
“Up until today, if I’d left my keys in the car I would have got them in the morning but now I think twice.”
Police thanked the public for their help and. The 57 reg Passat was seized after a police chase in Willington.
A grey Ford Ranger was also stolen from Newbiggin last Monday and a quad bike was taken from Harwood – police believe these two incidents are linked.