Pleasley pub landlord 'gutted' after new pizza oven stolen from beer garden

Paul Stevens and Sara Lee Burton, who run the White Swan pub, Meden Square, bought the new addition to their outdoor barbecue area for customers to enjoy as the weather gets warmer.

However, Paul was shocked to discover it was nowhere to be seen on Saturday, May 13.

He checked the pub’s CCTV cameras, where he saw a man in a hooded top and red trainers enter the beer garden in the early hours of the previous Thursday morning.

The man appeared to enjoy a casual cigarette in the seating area before picking up the pizza oven and walking off.

Paul, aged 50, said: “It’s dead bizarre.

“I can’t believe somebody actually had the gall to walk in, sit down and have a smoke, and then pick it up and walk off – and this was at 1.55am.

“We were actually sitting in the lounge at the time, but didn’t even notice.”

Paul said the theft was “disappointing” as the pub has always had a good relationship with the community.

“It’s the principal of it that’s got us,” Paul said. “We’re part of the community and we’ve helped out so much, then someone comes along and does this. It’s disappointing.

“I only put it up a week-and-a-half ago, so it must have been someone who knew we had it.”

The theft was also a financial blow, Paul said, as times are hard in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

He said: “Everyone knows the pub trade at the moment is doing terrible – our gas and electric bill was more than £3,000 last month.

“The oven was something I bought out of my own pocket, so it’s really upsetting.”

However, the couple’s faith in humanity was restored after the community rallied to raise funds to replace the stolen pizza oven.

A fundraising page at gofundme.com/f/the-pizza-oven has drummed up more than £100, which Paul said will provide an upgrade just in time for summer.

“The response from the village has been incredible and we can’t thank people enough,” Paul said. “This time we’re going to get a proper built-in pizza oven concreted to the ground.”