Thousands of meat pies were stolen in an unusual five-figure heist

Authorities in the UK recently recovered a stolen van containing 2,500 cakes in an unusual food heist gone wrong.

The value of the cakes was estimated at 25,000 British pounds or $32,000. The food was the property of Tommy Banks, a restaurateur who owns two Michelin-starred establishments.

The vehicle, which was filled with steak and beer pies as well as a variety of turkey and butternut, was headed to a Christmas market in York.

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

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In the UK, thieves recently stole a van containing thousands of cakes. (iStock)

“Thieves! Keep an eye on the cakes!!” Banks wrote on X before the van was found. “Help find the cakes. Let’s try to recover them and feed some people.”

Banks also urged the thieves to “do the right thing” and drop off the cakes at a community center so the food doesn’t go to waste.

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This undated handout photo shows a Tommy Banks cake. (Tommy Banks via AP)

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

“It’s just so much waste. It’s just trash,” Banks said in a video on Instagram. “I’m sorry, there isn’t a happier ending to this story.”

The cake incident is one of the few unusual food thefts in the UK this year. In October, a group of thieves posing as wholesalers stole over 950 slices of English cheddar.

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This undated handout photo shows Tommy Banks’ cakes. (Tommy Banks via AP)

The estimated value of the stolen cheese was $390,000. Residents were asked to be on the lookout for “22-pound or (52-pound) cloth-bound Cheddars with the labels removed.”

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten of the Associated Press and Fox News Digital contributed to this report.