Plea for ute left to Wangoom man by late grandfather to be returned

Josh Parsons, 32, left his 2021 Nissan single tray ute at the dairy while he was milking cows on Monday morning.

The vehicle means a lot to Mr Parsons because it belonged to his late grandfather Peter Crothers, who passed away late last year.

Mr Parsons took ownership of the ute about a week ago.

"It was parked at the dairy, which is about 200 metres off the road and someone has taken it," he said.

It's believed the offender stole a motorbike from a neighbour's property but it ran out of fuel and the opportunistic thief stole Mr Parson's vehicle.

"We think they took it when I was getting the cows in, otherwise I would have noticed," Mr Parsons said.

"They probably took it about 6am."

A number of south-west residents have shared a post about the theft on social media.

Mr Parsons said he was extremely grateful for the support and was keen to have the ute, which has the registration number 1UM 2XM, returned.

Anyone with information is requested to contact the Warrnambool police station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.