VALENTINE'S Day did not go according to plan for one Ipswich florist when hundreds of pounds worth of flowers and chocolates were stolen from one of their vans only hours before they were due to be delivered.

VALENTINE'S Day did not go according to plan for one Ipswich florist when hundreds of pounds worth of flowers and chocolates were stolen from one of their vans only hours before they were due to be delivered.

Tower Florists in Tower Ramparts, Ipswich, were featured in the Star yesterday when owner Rob Dunger said that everything was on track for their Valentines Day. They were ready for a busy but good day delivering gifts of romance to the unsuspecting public.

But in the early hours disaster struck when thieves broke in to the Nissan Vanette van and stole the goods.

More than 30 boxes of chocolates and 60 individually wrapped roses were taken from the van while it was parked in Fir Tree Rise, Ipswich between 12am and 5am.

Mr Dunger said the theft was devastating but with the help of his team they got round it and still met their orders for the day.

"These people make me really angry. They have taken things that we worked very hard to prepare and they are utterly despicable. They might have thought it would ruin our day but definitely not. With a brilliant team what seemed like a major disaster turned in to only a minor hiccup," said Mr Dunger.