Home of stroke victim, 86, ransacked in spate of ‘evil’ burglaries
Sgt Ken McNish and Ward Officer Belinda Goodwin are ploting a scheme called Streetwatch. They are the first in the met to do it and it'll be in Cranham and Upminster - Credit: Archant
An 86-year-old stroke survivor has fallen victim to a wave of burglaries to have swept through Upminster and Cranham in the New Year.
The victim, who has lived in Upminster for more than 30 years, had the glass panel of her rear patio door smashed before thieves ransacked her house.
The burglary is one of 19 reported in the Upminster and Cranham wards in the past nine weeks.
The majority of cases involve glass panes at the back of an empty property being smashed, granting the thieves access.
Sgt Ken McNish of the Cranham Safer Neighbourhood Team said: “We take it personally because this is our area and we don’t like giving this bad news to our residents.
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“We’re having a bad spate at the moment and it needs to stop.”
Residents are advised to take purses, wallets and car keys upstairs every night to prevent opportunistic burglars.
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One concerned resident on Meadow Way, where one of the burglaries took place, said: “It’s evil. Evil people doing terrible things.”
Another told the Recorder of a similar incident at a friend’s house in Cranham.
She said: “She only popped out for a few hours and someone took a hammer to her back door and helped themselves. That was only two weeks ago.”
Another resident questioned anti-intruder measures, saying “Burglar alarms don’t do anything because no one listens to them. You need a dog really.”
Upminster residents can contact Upminster Police Team on 0208 721 2726 or email Upminster.snt@met.police.uk for a free crime security survey.
Read the full story in today’s Recorder.
