A family has been left devastated after their new 30ft caravan, which was their “pride and joy,” was stolen from a lock-up.

Parents Ben Tate and Amy Rowlands, from Flint, watched with horror a CCTV recording showing five men breaking into a unit on Manor Industrial Estate in Bagillt where their eight-berth caravan was stored.

The thieves “rammed” through the unit’s electric gates in a white and silver transit van, and two men then removed the caravan’s wheel clamps and hitch lock, before the gang sped off taking the £15,000 caravan in tow.

Ms Rowlands said: “It makes me so angry to think of someone taking my things without my permission. We’ve worked hard to save up for that.

“We wanted an eight-berth to take our children away in the summer holidays with all their friends.

“I have two children, the youngest is two, and my eldest is nine. He’s absolutely gutted. He’s seen the CCTV and just thinks why are they taking it away.

“For me, it’s the principle of it. I had to pay for that and someone has just thought ‘I fancy that,’ and taken it.”

Ms Rowlands added that fortunately, most valuable items had been removed from the caravan after their last holiday, but Mr Tate has lost two sentimental body boards, which he bought  to mark his 21st birthday while he was living in Australia.

She said: “We’ve not even had it 12 months. The previous owner didn’t use it much so it was in immaculate condition. It had everything, even underfloor heating. It was our pride and joy.

“The worst thing was seeing our perfect caravan hooked up and driven away in an old transit van. I’m just a little bit lost and I don’t know what to do or say.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

The couple were first alerted to the theft at around 7.30pm on Monday, minutes after the thieves had left the secure storage site in their van.

The owner phoned the couple  immediately after seeing the CCTV footage  recorded at around 7.20pm,  which was also monitored by the Crime Protection Service (CPS) on the A55.

She added: “I keep thinking of the ‘what ifs.’ What if we had a tracker, or what if we turned the nose the other way round so they wouldn’t have been able to take it?

“I also want to give Flint credit where its due, everyone looks after each other. I’ve had so many messages from people saying things like ‘I saw it driving past,’ or ‘It was behind me and if only I knew.’ Everyone has been so nice.”

Although the caravan was insured and the family will receive their money back, Ms Rowlands said: “That is my stuff. They have my stuff. But I wouldn’t even want the caravan back anyway after they’ve had it.

“It’s not the money, it’s the principle.”

The 30ft Hobby caravan has been reportedly tracked near the West Midlands, but the family are aware that their chances of having it returned are low.

A North Wales Police spokesman said: “We’re dealing with the theft of a Hobby caravan reported on Monday.

“Anyone with information on this can call NWP on 101, quoting reference number RC17175877.”