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Minibus full of snakes, meerkats, spiders and birds of prey stolen Minibus full of snakes, meerkats, spiders and birds of prey stolen
(about 9 hours later)
A converted minibus containing more than 30 animals including snakes, meerkats and birds of prey has been stolen from a church car park. A converted minibus containing £20,000 of animals including snakes, meerkats, birds of prey and a poisonous spider was stolen from a car park.
It belongs to an organisation which does natural history lectures at schools in the West Midlands. The vehicle belonged to Natural History Presentations, which visits schools in the West Midlands to do presentations.
Owner Paul Beech said the animals need food and heat to survive. It was taken from St Andrew's church car park in Sedgley on Tuesday.
Mr Beech had parked at St Andrew's church in Sedgley on Tuesday afternoon while he went into a nearby pub to discuss a job. The minibus was later found abandoned near a row of garages in Central Drive, Lower Gornal. All animals apart from two snakes have been found.
He said the vehicle, which is white with an orange light on top, also contained tarantulas and lizards. Owner Paul Beech, 59, said he had left the van unoccupied for about two hours while he went to the Bulls Head pub to discuss a job.
'Sheer panic'
"When I saw they were gone I went blank," he said.
"It was sheer panic."
He said he recovered most of the animals - including the poisonous Chilean rose tarantula - when police called him in the early hours of the morning to say they had found the LDV Convoy minibus.
Mr Beech said he would return to try and find the two missing snakes - a carpet python and California king snake. Neither are poisonous, he added.
The minibus had minor damage to it from where the lock had been forced.
"The animals were the main thing," Mr Beech said.
"You can always get another vehicle. It was a big relief."