Council to change buying policy following van thefts
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• A county council is considering reducing the number of Ford Transits it has in its fleet after a spate of thefts in the past 10 months.
Cleveland County Council has lost eight Ford Transits to thieves since April. All but one was a diesel, and county fleet manager Bill Summerell believes that the thieves mistook the petrol van for a diesel.
Summerell says that, although Ford Transits are no easier to break into than other vans, the diesel-engined models are particularly attractive to thieves. "You can use the engines anywhere," he says, "because they do not have an integral gearbox. They can be made into marine engines and gypsies have been known to switch their petrol engines with cheaper-to-run diesels." He has recommended that the council's direct service board considers operating other marques— the council has more than 200 Transits in a fleet of about 545 vehicles. Ford says its new Ford Transit diesel, launched in September, should tackle the theft problem. Within six months it will be fitted with an engine immobiliser as standard.