A BURGER van has been moved from its base leaving hungry customers fuming.

Joe Derwick’s van has been moved on from the Cowdray Centre in Colchester after five years because his van has been deemed a fire risk.

Joe’s food was a favourite with customers, especially his £3 Girly Stick, a gut-busting French stick stacked with bacon, a jumbo sausage, cheese, onion and an egg.

But customers will have to eat elsewhere as his van is being parked at a farm in Ardleigh until he finds a new base.

Gazette:

Customer Steve Calthorpe tucks into a Girly Stick, a speciality of the burger van

Joe, 65, said: “Everyone on this estate uses the burger van, we bring business here.

“I’ve no idea where to go. The last time we had to close I spent a month looking and couldn’t find anywhere in Colchester.”

Joe says he was told his van is a fire risk.

However, a spokesman for management company BMO Real Estate Partners, said Joe had been on the site illegally as none of the tenants had sought permission for the van to be on site.

Meanwhile, residents only have until tomorrow to have their say on plans to transform the Cowdray Centre.

The consultation ends on Thursday for the Persimmon Homes development which could see 265 homes built in and around Mason Road.

Protesters want assurances the company will build a link road to Highwoods Country Park and extend Petrolea Close from Asda to a new junction in Ipswich Road.

A spokesman for Persimmon Homes Essex said: “We’ve assessed the impact of the development and proposed suitable mitigation where required.

“Our proposals, like the outline permission, would not prevent the creation of a north-south aligned link road through the site in the future, in line with Colchester Council policy.

“We’ve worked closely with the local authority to meet its requirements, including proposals to improve connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists to Highwoods Country Park and the rail station.

“This is now in a consultation process and we, like everyone else, will await the planning committee’s verdict in due course.”

A decision on the application is expected in April.

Click here to view the planning application and have your say.