A thief who stole a scout van has been slammed for "stealing from the children" of Hounslow .
The 1st Osterley Scout group's van disappeared from Osterley Road, Osterley , where the troupe is based, on Sunday July 3.
The vehicle was eventually discovered the following Sunday (July 10) evening in Heston , after numerous sightings of it being driven around west London with the group's name and logo emblazoned across the side.
Beavers leader Inez O'Hara thanked all those who supported the appeal to trace the vehicle, after its disappearance had placed an upcoming camping expedition in jeopardy.
But she delivered a withering message for the thief, whose identity remains unknown.
"We provide scouting for 200 young people in that area, and taking that van was denying them access to activities we run for them," she said.
'Where's your head at to steal from local children?'
"Where's your head at to steal a van in the first place, and what's more to steal it from the local children?"
Ms O'Hara said the vehicle had been hot-wired but was otherwise intact when it was recovered.
She said there had been sightings from as far afield as Wales, though that turned out to be another van.
One scout leader, who spotted the stolen vehicle and followed it around Whitton and Teddington before losing sight of it, described the driver as a grey-haired man with a bushy beard.
Ms O'Hara said the van and the scout group's other vehicles were now securely locked up.
Police said the van was reported as stolen on Thursday (July 7) and had been recovered undamaged on Sunday (July 10). A police spokeswoman said nobody had been arrested.
Ms O'Hara said the van had not been reported as stolen immediately since it was not initially clear whether or not it had been borrowed legitimately.
