Mum-to-be's campervan stolen day before due date

A pregnant woman has had her campervan stolen the day before she was due to give birth.

Eve Stalker, from Whitburn, South Tyneside, and her father had spent years converting the van together.

She said she and her partner had planned to use the vehicle to take their newborn son across the UK on holiday.

"Instead of having a relaxing afternoon before my midwife appointment yesterday, we spent the morning knocking on doors and asking people for any CCTV footage they may have," she said.

The van was stolen at about 20:15 BST on Wednesday in the Marina Terrace area, with doorbell camera footage appearing to show the crime taking place.

"It was stolen basically in broad daylight," said Ms Stalker, who was due to give birth on Thursday.

She said the theft had come at the "worst time".

Ms Stalker and her father had worked together to make the van fit for use on family holidays.

"I try not to get myself upset because it's like all those plans that we had have sort of been dashed now," she said.

The remodelling, which included converting its windows, cost thousands of pounds, she said.

"It's not even really about the money. It's more about the time and effort we spent and like all of those plans we had for it."

Police are investigating, but she and her partner have themselves been out searching for the van.

"We spent hours yesterday driving around and that's not what you want to do when you're 40 weeks pregnant," she said.

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