Thieves steal 2,500 pies in odd food heist gone wrong: 'So much waste'

Authorities in the United Kingdom recently recovered a stolen van filled with 2,500 pies in an unusual food heist gone wrong.

The value of the pies was estimated to be 25,000 British pounds, or $32,000. The food items were owned by Tommy Banks, a restaurateur who owns two Michelin-starred establishments.

The vehicle, which was filled with steak and ale pies as well as a turkey and butternut variety, was supposed to head to a Christmas market in York.

The theft of the pies caused a stir on social media earlier this week, leading Banks to call on his followers to find the lost pies.

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"Thieves! Keep your eyes on the Pies!!" Banks wrote on X before the van was found. "Help find the pies. Let's try and recover them and feed some people."

Banks also asked the thieves to "do the right thing" and drop the pies off at a community center so the food wouldn't go to waste.

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The pies were left in the stolen van, Banks said, but were too damaged to be eaten or sold. Banks confirmed that the van was insured but lamented the loss of the savory pies.

"It’s just so much waste. It’s just rubbish," Banks said in a video on Instagram. "Sorry, it’s not a happier ending to this story."

The pie incident is one of a few unusual food heists in the United Kingdom this year. In October, a group of thieves that posed as a wholesale distributor stole over 950 wheels of English cheddar.

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The estimated value of the stolen cheese was $390,000. Local residents were asked to be on the lookout for "clothbound Cheddars in a [22-pound] or [52-pound] format with the tags detached."

The Associated Press and Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.