Young AO delivery van fanatic gets chance to ride in one during dream VIP tour of depot 

A five-year-old obsessed with AO’s distinctive green delivery vans had his dream come true, when he was invited for a guided tour of his local depot. 

Arthur Wright, from Plymouth, was invited to the online electricals retailer’s Exeter outbase and was given the VIP treatment. Arthur and his mum Caroline were greeted with picnic and a cake in the shape of an AO van, before he was presented with his very own hi-vis jacket.  

During the course of the morning, Arthur had the chance to sit in one of the 18 tonne trucks and was then taken around the site in a 3.5 tonne van.  

Arthur’s mum Caroline originally got in touch with AO just before Christmas, to try and make his Christmas wish of getting a toy AO delivery van become a reality. After discovering that the toy became his favourite present and learning that he was local, the team at Exeter knew they had to go one step further.  

Ashley Chesterman, depot manager at AO’s Exeter outbase, said: “One of our AO company values is ‘making decisions that make your mum proud’, so when we heard about Arthur, it seemed obvious that we should invite him for a tour and pull out the stops to make it as special a day as possible.  

“To be honest, I think the team and I enjoyed the day just as much as Arthur did! 

“Caroline mentioned that he was struggling to fit in at school, so we sent him home with an AO van cake and some bears to share with his schoolmates.”  

Caroline added: “Arthur’s always loved dressing up and pretending to do different jobs that he sees people doing. Every time he sees one of the AO vans driving around, he always sings ‘AO, Let’s Go’ and asks our smart speaker to play the song.  

“He’s obsessed with his toy van and even slept with it on Christmas night, so to be able to go inside one and have a ride was a dream come true. 

“He hasn’t really been enjoying school recently, so it’s amazing to see him so happy. I can’t thank the team at Exeter enough, he hasn’t stopped smiling since the tour!”