Three West Midlands locations named as hotspots for van thefts

Birmingham has topped a list as a hotspot for van theft in the UK, with 1,446 vans stolen over the last two years (2024 and 2025).

Other places ranked on the list included two in the Black Country hubs - Wolverhampton and Walsall.

The information was provided by temporary insurance provider Tempcover, who analysed data from DVLA. The data showed that van thefts are not evenly spread across the UK, with certain areas seeing significantly higher volumes, this is largely influenced by population size and vehicle density.

Tempcover said that in Birmingham, the total number of vans that were stolen between 2024 and 2025 was 1446. Birmingham topped the list of ten places in the UK for the highest number of van thefts.

Here are the top locations country-wide in which recorded van thefts in 2024 and 2025:

1. Birmingham - 1,446

2. Sheffield - 695

3. Guildford - 577

4. Bristol - 557

5. Walsall- 495

6. Leeds - 480

7. Slough - 462

8. Manchester - 411

9. Nottingham - 384

10. Wolverhampton - 375

Birmingham topped the list as in 2024, 797 vans were stolen. Whereas in 2025, 649 vans were stolen.

In this ranking, Walsall stands out too being listed as the fifth worst place, as 495 vans were stolen in 2024 and 2025. For Walsall, in 2024, 204 vans were stolen and in 2025, 171 vans were stolen.

Coming in at number 10, in Wolverhampton, 375 vans were stolen in 2024 and 2025. Of this, in 2024, 204 vans were stolen and in 2025, 171 vans were stolen.

In terms of the vehicle make, the Ford Transit 350 was the UK’s most stolen van model, with 1,309 incidents in 2024 and 2025 combined, accounting for around 6% of all van thefts over the period. Ford Transit variants feature heavily across the top ten most stolen models, alongside the Mercedes Sprinter.