Doncaster delivery driver dragged along road after van theft - BBC News
Costel Tablan suffered three broken ribs after hanging on to his van for four streets.
Costel Tablan was taken to hospital with three broken ribs and needed skin grafts on his feet

A delivery driver was dragged along four streets as he tried to stop a thief stealing his van.

Costel Tablan, 42, suffered three broken ribs and needed skin grafts after the incident in Doncaster on Sunday.

He said he hung on to the door handle as the thief sped off and shouted "stop or you will kill me, because I am not going to let you have this van".

The vehicle, which had 130 parcels it, was found on fire a short time later.

Mr Tablan described the "terrible moment" he clung on as the thief drove off after sneaking into his vehicle when he stopped to make a delivery.

"I waited for a corner for him to brake and held on to the door handle, but he tried to knock me into things on the street - I had to let go," he said.

The father-of-three's colleagues have launched a fundraising campaign to help him get a new van.

His manager Dave Richards said Mr Tablan was taken to hospital with three broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and ruptured discs in his spine, as well as needing skin grafts on both feet.

He said he expected him to be in hospital "for quite a while".

"It could have been a lot worse - the injuries are bad enough as it is, but he is lucky to be where he is," Mr Richards said.

"It's a shock that there's people out there doing things like this."

Mr Richards said the fundraising campaign would go towards helping Mr Tablan get "back on his feet and getting him back to work" as he would struggle to get a new vehicle even with his insurance payout.

Mr Tablan, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, said: "I am so thankful and overwhelmed from the bottom of my soul for all the support and care people are showing."

South Yorkshire Police said they were investigating the theft.

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