the van was stolen from the Stuart Park area between 6.30 and 7am.

After a call was put out on Facebook people reported seeing it heading north.

Just after 8am the van was located, burnt out in bushland at Bellambi.

Business owner Angela Saville was driving to the site and said she knew what had happened before she got there.

"I could see a big patch of black smoke and I figured that was it," Ms Saville said.

"They’ve just dumped it out the back of Holy Spirit College and set it on fire.

"They’ve just driven it up there over in the bush and then set it alight."

Ms Saville said the police had done a god job in finding the stolen van so quickly but despaired at the setback caused by the theft.

"That’s now destroying our service for a number of days, weeks whatever it might be," she said.

"It’s stopping the line of work we might usually do because we’re now having to sort out getting a new vehicle, getting new equipment.

"That van holds everything we need to run our business.

"All of our gear that we use to run our classes is in that van so it creates a big hole in what we’re doing."

Ms Saville said the Savvy classes will continue as normal and that people should "definitely turn up".

She said, while the van and equipment were insured, she couldn't wait until the insurance payout arrives to replace them.

"There’s going to be a waiting period for insurance so there’s going to be some pretty hefty upfront out-of-pocket expenses to get up and running," she said.

"We're just going to have to work really quickly. I guess we're going to have to repurchase a whole lot of equipment, sort out how we’re going to access that equipment, organise a new van."

Wollongong police are investigating the theft. Anyone with information is asked to call Wollongong station on 4226 7899 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.