A FORMER policeman drove his £20,000 catering van into a filling station to check the tyres - and stood by helplessly as a thief leapt into the cab and drove it away.

Anthony Hutchinson, 50, could only watch as the hooded thief sped away in the bright gold-coloured vehicle from the garage at Fir Tree, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham.

Mr Hutchinson, from Butterknowle, near Barnard Castle, left the police after being injured in a riot in Middlesbrough.

He said: "I must have stupidly left the key in the ignition as I got out for only a few moments to check the rear tyres.

"The thief got right in and roared away. I'm sure if I had managed to get to the front of the vehicle he would have mown me down. The lesson from this is - never leave your keys in the ignition."

The theft was captured on a closed-circuit television cameras, footage from which is being studied police, but a hood hid the man's face. Officers around the area have been alerted to look out for the vehicle.

The van was driven along the A68 towards West Auckland after the theft on Tuesday afternoon. Mr Hutchinson, known as Hutch, heard the next day that it had been found under a bridge on a farm track. But by the time he got there, it had disappeared again.

Mr Hutchinson started his business seven months ago with another vehicle in a layby between Wolsingham and Frosterley. He switched to the other vehicle, converted from a BT transit van, a month ago.

He said: "I've been working hard to build up the business. I serve lorry drivers, local people and tourists with all sorts - bacon and sausage sandwiches, burgers, and salads.

"I need the vehicle so I can go on earning."

There was enough diesel in the tank to take the van 180 miles, and he hopes once that runs out, the thief will abandon it.

Mr Hutchinson said that there was a substantial amount of food on board, including meals prepared by his wife Christine, but it would all be ruined by now - unless the thief had sold it.