Gateshead deli owner’s heartbreak after street food van is damaged in an arson attack

The incident happened during the early hours of Friday, March 31, at Catering Units on the Team Valley Trading Estate.

La Cucina Lounge.Deli owner, Sam Bruford, explained to NewcastleWorld that the van was an upgrade to their old one, which was broken into last year, and was just weeks away from being open to the public.

Sam has expressed her disappointment at the incident, which Northumbria Police are investigating, but said that it won’t hold her back from rebuilding the business.

The 32-year-old said: “It is just devastating as we’ve worked so hard to get to this point, especially as we are a family run business.

“I’m from a working background, I’ve worked since I was 15-years-old so everything that I’ve got, I have worked for.

“It is so sad and scary that there is someone out there who has come out of their way to do this.

“This van was supposed to be a comeback following a setback that we had when our old one was broken into but it won’t stop us.

“We are getting straight to work to ensure that we’re back bigger and better again.

“We’ve had a van based at Sainsbury’s in Team Valley for the last12 and we will be back there soon enough.”

After sharing the news on the La Cucina Lounge.Deli Facebook page, Sam has been flooded with messages of support and has even had a Just Giving page set up to help raise money to add to the £6,000 reward that she has offered for information that leads to an arrest.

Sam added: “All the support has been great, it is good to see there are so many kind people in the world.

“People have been coming in and asking if I’m doing alright so it is giving us a bit of a boost and positivity for the future.

“The Just Giving page to help contribute and potentially raise the reward money that we are offering almost means a lot as well.”

The Just Giving page is aiming to raise £4,000 to add to the £6,000 that Sam has already offered to the public in reward money.

You can view the page by clicking here.

Read Newcastle’s news on the go with our free email newsletters - bringing the headlines to your inbox. Catch up on the day’s news and sport and enjoy even more from the NewcastleWorld team. Visit our website here to find out more and sign up.