A mom has slammed police after her son’s physique lay undiscovered at the back of his van parked on a BP storage forecourt for six days.
Don Shepherd was final seen parking his van on the BP on Cambridge Heath Street, Bethnal Inexperienced, East London, early on February 11.
Described as a ‘joyful tree hugger’ by his mom and dwelling in his van, Mr Sheppherd, 50, was seen on movie attempting to purchase a bottle of water – however was informed by an assistant the store was nonetheless closed.
He was then seen on CCTV strolling again to his van. It was the final time he was seen alive. Contained in the automobile, he died from a coronary heart assault.
His physique lay at the back of the transit for six days till he was lastly found by police on February 17 – after his frantic mom repeatedly phoned to report him lacking.
Don Shepherd’s physique lay at the back of the transit for six days till he was lastly found by police
Donald and Liz Shepherd of Sussex maintain an image of their son Don who was discovered useless in his vanÂ
Employees on the storage additionally phoned police asking them to take away the automobile that had been parked on its forecourt all that point – unaware there was a physique inside.
Talking completely to MailOnline, his mom Liz, 67, from Hastings, East Sussex, blasted officers, saying: ‘I reported him lacking on February tenth.
‘I phoned the police and informed them I could not pay money for him. He was dwelling in his van so he was shifting round so much, however we had been in common contact. He hadn’t been in contact for a for just a few days and I used to be nervous about him.Â
‘I informed them he had final used his financial institution card at a petroleum station in Finsbury Park. I gave them the registration variety of his van – and requested them to have a look at the storage CCTV.
‘However they have been hopeless. We informed them we knew he had been on the storage.
‘I now know that the poor man from the petrol station had additionally repeatedly referred to as them, saying there is a man right here in a van who hasn’t left it for 5 days. However the police by no means got here.’
Finally, the Met responded to the storage workers and despatched officers down. There, officers had been seen desperately attempting to pry the van’s doorways open earlier than paramedics swarmed the scene. A Met Police spokesman mentioned that they recognized the person and informed his household.
A postmortem confirmed Mr Sheppherd had died from a coronary heart assault.
The Met mentioned: ‘At 14:12hrs on Saturday, 17 February the physique of a person was found in a automobile in a petroleum storage in Cambridge Heath Street E2.
‘Officers imagine they know who the deceased is and are working to tell the following of kin. At this stage, the demise just isn’t being handled as suspicious.’
Don is described as a ‘joyful tree hugger’ by his momÂ
Liz and her husband at the moment are organising his funeral and say they’ve made a proper criticism to the Metropolitan Police concerning the requirements of their investigation
Don Shepherd was final seen parking his van on the BP on Cambridge Heath Street, Bethnal Inexperienced, East London (pictured), early on February 11
 Liz says her son was diabetic and wasn’t dwelling properly previous to his demise
London Ambulance Service spokesperson added: ‘We had been referred to as at 2.15pm on February 17 to studies of an incident on Cambridge Heath Street, E1.
‘We despatched an ambulance crew and paramedic in a fast-response automotive to the scene. Very sadly, an individual was pronounced useless on the scene.’
Liz, a retired British Airways hostess, says that her son was diabetic and wasn’t dwelling properly previous to his demise.
She continued: ‘He had pulled up on the Sunday night and requested for some water. He was staggering they mentioned. Then he went into his van.
‘The coroner has launched his physique, and the van continues to be there – it is shameful, a person died there.
‘I knew he was gone as I might see the final time he used his playing cards. The police got here to inform us, however I already knew he was gone. I mentioned to them ‘why is that this solely occurring six days after I reported him lacking?’
Liz and her husband at the moment are organising his funeral and say they’ve made a proper criticism to the Metropolitan Police concerning the requirements of their investigation.
‘That van sat there for six days. It might have been full of something. Explosives even, the police ought to have come. That is no solution to deal with folks, it is past unhappy, it is heartbreaking for us,’ she added.
