Mark Lang murder: Courier's family call for safety measures

By Kayley Thomas & Clare Hutchinson

BBC News

The daughters of a man who was murdered while delivering parcels say no-one should have to be afraid to go to work.

Cara and Elena Lang are calling for better safety measures to protect delivery drivers after their father was killed in March 2023.

The sisters sat in court as Christopher El Gifari, 31, was sentenced to life for murder while stealing Mark Lang’s parcel delivery van.

Delivery firms said staff safety is taken “very seriously”.

But the union Unite said companies are “putting profits above lives”.

And police chiefs warned of a rising number of “opportunistic” attacks on delivery drivers and are urging courier companies to take responsibility for their workers’ safety.

Mr Lang, 54, died last year after El Gifari stole his van, ran him over and then dragged him half a mile along a busy Cardiff road.

It follows a string of attacks, including a Coventry man jailed in March for stealing an Amazon van and leaving its driver with life changing injuries, and another Amazon driver pulled from his van and attacked in Derbyshire.

Cara and Elena were at work when they learned their dad was fighting for his life in intensive care.

His injuries were so severe, he died 18 days later.

The sisters said they don’t blame their dad’s employer, Evri, but called on delivery firms to relieve the pressure on their drivers and introduce more safety training.

They said their father’s van had been targeted before and they had warned him about leaving it with the keys in.

“He would have a sack of packages to deliver in one day and he could be rushing round. Sometimes he would be working until 9pm just to make sure people get the parcels,” said Cara, 27.

“There needs to be a better plan in place so that the pressure is relieved a bit.

“Nobody should have to worry about what’s going to happen to them when they go to work.”

Their calls were echoed by the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) lead on commercial robbery, Deputy Chief Constable Jayne Meir, who said the cost of living crisis has seen a rise in delivery drivers being seen as an “easy opportunity” by criminals.

She warned drivers to be vigilant but urged employers to do more.

She said: “There’s hundreds of these vans all over the place dropping off parcels and some may have a £5 teddy in and some of them have got a £500 iPhone.

“There’s only so much protection that the police can offer and we’re absolutely looking to get courier companies to get the right prevention in place.”

BBC News contacted more than 30 delivery drivers across the UK, many of whom would only speak on condition their names weren’t published, as they are still working as couriers.

Some are employed directly by delivery firms, such UPS and Parcelforce.

Others are self-employed contractors who use their own vehicles to deliver parcels for companies like Amazon and Evri, which both use this model.

Image source, SDI Productions

One said his colleague was robbed at gunpoint, which made him reassess his own safety.

“It made me more vigilant about locking my van properly and making sure I don’t position my van into a dead end where I would not be able to escape,” he said.

Another said he felt “disposable”.

“A lot of people don’t understand: if your statistics aren’t good enough, you won’t be offered work, you get ‘cut’,” he said.

“They expect people to work like machines every single day of the week. I once did 22 10-hour-plus days without a day off.”

Van driver John Godwin, 40, from Risca in Newport, south Wales, thought he would be gone “two seconds” when he dropped his keys in the rush to deliver a parcel.

When he returned, his £5,000 van was being driven away packed with goods worth thousands of pounds.

Image source, John Godwin

He said while warnings were often passed on to drivers about thefts in certain areas, he had not received training on security and thefts were “not at all on my radar” when his van was stolen six months into the job.

“Delivering for some of these companies means that you’re self employed which means you don’t carry the same amount of workers benefits as you would if you were employed,” he said.

“The pressure you’re on to come into work is huge.”

Workers’ union Unite said the pressures put on delivery drivers can force them to take risks, and is calling for companies to put two drivers in one van in more dangerous areas.

Regional officer for Wales, Richard Jackson, said: “What we don’t want to see is a continuance of employers perhaps putting profits before people. There are high value goods in these vehicles, but you can’t put a value on these people’s lives.”

UPS said it took the safety of its staff “very seriously, encouraging them to raise concerns if they have them.

Amazon, which uses “delivery service providers” to fulfil customer orders, said: “Training is provided to all drivers.”

Yodel said it wouldn’t be commenting and after repeated attempts, the BBC had no response from Evri, DPD or Royal Mail.

Mark Lang’s daughters Cara and Elena say despite the stresses, their dad enjoyed his job.

“He liked the flexibility of it, he liked being out and active,” said Elena.

She said her dad’s customers “loved him”, even sending cards to his hospital bedside. Many came to his funeral.

But when they think of their father, the first thing they hear is his laugh.

“I don’t think we ever saw him not smiling, happy or laughing,” said Elena, 25.

“He would do anything for us any of us.”

Cara added: “He tried to see the positives. He’d always try and make a bad situation into something so much better.”

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