A victim of crime had his livelihood robbed when his van was stolen and trashed by teenagers on Friday.
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Self-employed business owner, Peter Woulfe, said he has been forced to fork out more than a weeks wage to keep his business afloat after the random attack on his van.
Two teenagers appeared in Wagga Children’s Court on Tuesday, charged with stealing a panel van, which police say they drove at 170 km/h on the Olympic Highway.
A 14-year-old pleaded guilty to five charges – vehicle theft, police pursuit, dangerous driving, speeding by more than 30 km/h and unlicensed driving. A 15-year-old male has been charged with being a passenger. He did not enter a plea.
Mr Woulfe, who operates 12 Volt Solutions, with his son Chris, said the van, which police recovered, had a blown up engine and was now useless.
“We are a small business and we operate out the back of the purpose built sedan,” Mr Woulfe said.
Mr Woulfe said he believed his car would have ended up “burnt out” if the engine had not “exploded” as it struggled to travel at excessive speed.
Days before the alleged theft, the Woulfes had spent in excess of $10,000 reworking the van, installing signage and ensuring it was fit to carry thousands of dollars of electrical equipment.
“We work seven days a week,” Mr Woulfe said.
“When I found out the van was missing I was on the Central Coast and I felt helpless.”
Chris Woulfe immediately went in search of the white van.
“It’s our livelihood.”
By Wednesday the Woulfes were working on a newly purchased van they had been forced to spend $3000 on.
A backlog of jobs meant waiting for insurance claims to come through on the old van was not an option.
Mr Woulfe pleaded with potential criminals to think about the impact their wreckless actions had on regular, hard-working Australians.
“The people don’t understand that this impacts us,” Mr Woulfe said.
Thankfully the expensive electrical tools the Woulfes need to do their job were recovered with the van.
“They are worth more than $20,000,” Mr Woulfe said.
“(If they were not recovered) it would destroy our business.”
Mr Woulfe said he knew of other small business owners who had had electrical tools stolen.
“They sell them for $50 for a bag of ice, these tools are worth $800,” Mr Woulfe said.
“Any cordless tools that are easy to take...they grab.”
The Woulfes praised the police for arresting and charging the youths but said tougher penalties were needed to stamp out “senseless” crime.