Couple’s house keys dropped at nearby location after Village Hotel in Walsall after van stolen
Criminals who stole a family’s van and all their luggage the night before their holiday left their house keys after the theft, it has been revealed.
Ashley Mackenzie and her husband Bryan woke on the day of a P&O cruise around the Canary Islands to find their transit van – alongside all their luggage – had vanished from the Village Hotel in Walsall.
The couple had parked their family vehicle under CCTV and in a well-lit area of the hotel’s car park, but thieves managed to make off with it overnight on Tuesday, March 18.
Read more: Family’s £2k reward plea as van with holiday luggage stolen from hotel car park
Bizarrely, the thieves made the decision to ditch the family’s house keys at a nearby school. In an update on Wednesday, Ashley said: “No updates on the bags but my house keys were found at a local school.
“I don’t want to give the name of the school but it was near the Village Hotel.”
After the incident, the family were left scrambling around to find transport to reach the port for the cruise.
They also launched an urgent appeal in the hope of retrieving their luggage – which contained essential medication for their son, six, and eight-year-old daughter’s inhalers.
A family heirloom engagement ring was also inside the van, mum Ashley told BirminghamLive.
Despite waking to the devastating news of the theft, the family-of-four managed to reach the ship on time for their cruise – which is in celebration of Bryan’s 40th birthday.
P&O cruises has now also vowed to fly their luggage back to whichever country they are staying in – should it be returned to the Village Hotel.
Speaking from the cruise, Ashley added: “A friend of ours brought us cases for our newly bought clothes, and she ran us to the Iona cruise ship at Southampton.
“We made the ship. P&O have said that if our bags are returned they will fly them out to meet us wherever we are on the cruise! So hopefully if you can keep sharing they will drop the bags off.”
BirminghamLive has contacted P&O cruises, the Village Hotel and West Midlands Police for statements.