Plumber jumps on getaway car

THIEVES who had just plundered a new house on a building site sped off in a van with a have-a-go-hero clinging to the windscreen wipers.

The man who tried to stop the thieves, a plumber from Braintree, was eventually thrown off the van when the thieves braked hard. They then hit him as they drove off and made their escape.

The drama happened on a new housing development in London Road, Purfleet, at about 3.15pm on Wednesday.

The plumber, 27, was last night recovering from injuries to his neck and chest at Darrent Valley Hospital, in Kent. An Essex Police spokesman said his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

He was working on one of the houses when he saw three men loading heating equipment and fixtures and fittings from one of the houses into the back of a van.

He confronted them and when the van started to drive off he jumped onto the bonnet.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “The van then drove at high speed with the man still hanging onto the bonnet before braking hard, throwing the man off.”

The van, possibly an E-registration dark blue Ford or Fiat, drove off along London Road, hitting the plumber.

The thieves are described as white, aged in their 30s to 40s. One had an Irish accent, one was heavily tanned and the other had long scruffy hair. The van had white writing on the side, with either paving or blinds written on it.

Essex Ambulance Service paramedic Louise Lindsey said: “We were told that a van entered the construction site and the male occupants got out and took some items before starting to drive off with them. One of the workers tried to stop the van by climbing up onto it and hanging onto the windscreen wipers.

“The driver of the van tried to shake the man off the vehicle and eventually he fell to the ground, sustaining injuries to his neck and chest.

“The patient's colleagues kept him still and covered him with blankets while waiting for the ambulance service to arrive.”