Mother slams ‘hopeless’ police after her 50-year-old son’s body lay undiscovered in the back of his van parked on a BP garage forecourt for SIX DAYS
A mother has criticized police after her son’s body was left undiscovered in the back of his van, parked on the forecourt of a BP garage, for six days.
Don Shepherd was last seen on February 11 when he parked his van at the BP on Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, east London.
Described by his mother as a ‘happy tree hugger’ and living in his van, 50-year-old Mr Sheppherd was seen on film trying to buy a bottle of water, but an assistant told him the shop was still closed.
He was then seen on CCTV walking back to his van. It was the last time he was seen alive. He died of a heart attack in the vehicle.
His body lay in transit for six days until he was finally discovered by police on February 17 – after his frantic mother repeatedly called to report him missing.
Don Shepherd’s body lay in the back of transit for six days until he was finally discovered by police
Donald and Liz Shepherd from Sussex hold a photo of their son Don who was found dead in his van
The garage staff also called the police asking them to remove the vehicle that had been parked in the forecourt all this time – unaware that there was a body inside.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, his mother Liz, 67, from Hastings, East Sussex, told officers: ‘I reported him missing on February 10.
‘I called the police and told them I couldn’t get hold of him. He lived in his van so he was on the road a lot, but we were in regular contact. He hadn’t been in contact for a few days and I was worried about him.
‘I told them he had last used his bank card at a petrol station in Finsbury Park. I gave them the license plate number of his van – and asked them to look at the CCTV footage from the garage.
‘But they were hopeless. We told them we knew he had been in the garage.
“I now know that the poor guy at the gas station also called them repeatedly and said there’s a guy in a van here that hasn’t left him for five days. But the police never came.”
Eventually the Met responded to the garage staff and sent officers down. There we saw officers desperately trying to pry open the doors of the van before paramedics rushed to the scene. A Met Police spokesperson said they had identified the man and informed his family.
An autopsy confirmed that Mr Sheppherd had died of a heart attack.
The Met said: ‘At 2.12pm on Saturday, February 17, the body of a man was discovered in a vehicle in a petrol garage on Cambridge Heath Road E2.
‘Officers think they know who the deceased is and are busy informing the next of kin. At this stage the death is not being treated as suspicious.”
Don is described by his mother as a ‘happy tree hugger’
Liz and her husband are now organizing his funeral and say they have made a formal complaint to the Metropolitan Police about the standards of their investigation
Don Shepherd was last seen parking his van at the BP on Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, East London (pictured), early February 11
Liz says her son had diabetes and was not living well before his death
The London Ambulance Service spokesperson added: ‘We were called at 2.15pm on February 17 to reports of an incident on Cambridge Heath Road, E1.
“We sent an ambulance crew and paramedic to the scene in a rapid response car. Very sadly, one person was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Liz, a retired British Airways hostess, says her son had diabetes and was not living well before his death.
She continued, “He had stopped on Sunday night and asked for some water. He was staggering, they said. He then got into his van.
“The coroner released his body and the van is still there. It’s a shame that a man died there.
“I knew he was gone, as I could see the last time he used his cards. The police came to tell us, but I already knew he was gone. I said to them, ‘Why is this only happening six days after I reported him missing?’
Liz and her husband are now organizing his funeral and say they have made a formal complaint to the Metropolitan Police about the standards of their investigation.
‘That van was there for six days. It could have been filled with anything. Even explosives, the police should have come. This is no way to treat people, it’s beyond sad, it’s heartbreaking for us,” she added.