Six vans destined to support the vital work of the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic were stolen then dumped with their dashboards ripped out.
Inter Hire in Hirwaun was broken into overnight between Monday, May 18, and Tuesday, May 19, after entry was forced through its back gate.
Owner, Jarrad Morris, 29, said the office was "smashed up" and six of their vehicles, prepped and ready to help the NHS, including for transporting essential PPE equipment, were taken.
He described how the vehicles were luckily found throughout the day on Tuesday dotted around the Neath Valley and Merthyr areas.
Some had their dashboards ripped out, although none had exterior damage or signs of forced entry.
"As a small business already operating in a difficult business environment, it really has hit us hard to have this happen to us. We recently moved to a larger premises in Hirwaun in order to improve our offering of car and van hire to the surrounding areas and to fully service contracts, including vehicles going directly to the NHS," said Mr Morris.
"We had to invest a lot more in security, including the employment of a full-time security guard.
"There was no sign of forced entry to the vehicles, they managed to get in them and start them without the keys.
"Our CCTV was also stolen along with a brand new iPad."
Mr Morris said that altogether, the damage cost his company around £15,000.
He urged other businesses to invest in security measures if they could, so they could avoid it happening to them.
He said: "This problem is widespread in the area and the level of sophistication and speed of the theft was frightening. We urge all other businesses and vehicle owners to follow our lead and install extra security precautions on all their vehicles, especially associated with combating key cloning and remote starting of vehicles.
"We would like to thank the community for their response and confirm that our business is trading as normal from our Hirwaun and Cardiff branches."
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A spokesman for South Wales Police said: "An investigation has been launched into a high value commercial burglary which took place in Hirwaun at approximately 5.30am on Monday (18 May, 2020).
"Six vans and other equipment was stolen from a company called Inter Hire by individuals who forced entry via a back gate to the premises.
"All the vehicles have since been recovered and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Anybody with information should call 101 quoting reference *172359 or they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."
