Sadly in Ireland, the theft of recovery vehicles has long been a significant issue. Recently one of our readers came across a recovery body that was stolen to order. The bed itself was in as-new condition, having been carefully removed from the lorry it was originally assigned to.

    When we spoke to various agencies, it became obvious that a few patterns emerged in the theft of vehicles; they were rarely taken from secure yards and often stolen to order. When removed to another site, these vehicles are often stripped carefully and put onto another chassis cab, to make their return more difficult, as the slide-beds are often repainted.

    This has led us to draw up a small reminder of what to do to help you stay ahead of the thieves:

• Make sure your vehicle has a security number of some sort, permanently etched into it in places where it is hard to remove.
• Using security paint, make a mark known only to yourself somewhere were it is unlikely to be repainted over.
• Take pictures of any irregularities it might have for future reference.
• Purchase an intermittent vehicle tracker.
• Make a list of all serial numbers on your vehicle.
• Lock all lockable handles in your vehicle.
• Always store your vehicle in a secure place.
• Where possible, block the exit where you store your vehicle(s).
• Where possible, immobilise your vehicle
• Never leave your vehicle with too much fuel in the tank. Although it needs to be ready to work on a short notice, you have more chance of finding a stolen truck using the help of CCTV of fuel station forecourts.

    If you ever find yourself the unfortunate victim of a theft, please get in touch straight away with the Irish Recovery Network on
01-431-1340 and we will launch an online bulletin to help spread the world as soon as possible.