A FAMILIAR feature of Stanley was missing this week after thieves made off with a burger van on Sunday night

Bob's Butties van has been a popular fixture on the town's market for more than nine years.

Crooks stole the brightly coloured catering trailer from outside the home of its owners, Terry and Collette Hall, in Durham Road, Annfield Plain, between 8pm and 9pm.

The couple only acquired the new, 12 feet by eight feet van last August, after they bought the pitch from the original Bob last March.

"This is a real kick in the teeth," said Mr Hall.

The Halls operate the trailer on Thursdays and Saturdays at Stanley Market and on Sundays from next to the town's bus station. A friend has loaned them a smaller unit so they can keep trading at weekends.

The trailer cost the couple £14,000 when they bought it from Germany last August. The words 'Bob's Butties' are emblazoned across it in blue letters, two feet high. There is no registration plate, but the unit does have a unique serial number, W0908011VRS33234.

"It is a German-made trailer, so it will stick out like a sore thumb - they don't make them like that in this country," said Mr Hall.

He has visited catering firms across the region, in case the thieves try and sell it locally.

Witnesses reported seeing a blue Rover car towing the trailer in the direction of Chester-le-Street. The car, an 800 series, had also been stolen from Annfield Plain. Police later found it abandoned at the Drum Industrial Estate, near Birtley.

Officers are keen to trace a white, L-reg, Citroen Xantia car, which was seen in the Durham Road area of Annfield Plain and could have been the crooks making a reconnaissance of the area, the night before the theft.

Anyone with information should call Stanley Police on (01207) 232144.