Grinning burglar ransacks home near Bridgnorth - with CCTV
A husband and wife have told how they've struggled to sleep after a grinning burglar trashed their garage and stole bikes in a late-night burglary at their home near Bridgnorth.
Phil and Lynne Hinton were fast asleep when the perpetrators struck at their house in Romsley View, Alveley in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Three mountain bikes, bottles of wine and power tools were taken in the raid. It is also understood that another home in nearby Daddlebrook Road was also targeted.
Watch CCTV footage:
Phil told of his shock at waking up to find items from his garage strewn across the lawn.
He said: "I got out of bed doing the usual routine. My wife went to the bathroom and I went and fed the cat.
"We've got a pantry in our kitchen and the door was open. I took no notice, thinking I probably left it open.
"I walked into the kitchen. We've got these two French doors which were wide open. I thought that was strange. I looked in the garden and there was a load of stuff on the lawn out of my garage.
"I looked in the garage and could see that they basically ransacked it. They managed to open the doors into the driveway. They took three mountain bikes, bottles of wine, power tools. They even got into the big fridge freezer full of food and left it wide open. Every single draw was pulled out so I don't even know what they took. They were here for about six or seven minutes at least."
Clear CCTV footage was recorded of a man approaching the house, grinning as he peered through the window.
He added: "They broke into my neighbours down the road and nicked a mountain bike from his garage. We also know they were at his next door neighbours, because his walking stick was left in their front garden. They'd obviously been rummaging around.
"We only saw one person on the camera, but there must have been more than one because of what they took."
Phil said it has been difficult for he and Lynne to come to terms with.
He said: "You're never happy when someone's been in your house. The next night I struggled to sleep. I thought I heard a noise and was prowling around the house. It's one of those things. Unfortunately that's how the world is these days.
"These burglaries seem to happen in a spate. We'll get a few in one go and then nothing for a while.
"She's more gutted than I am. She's been looking at burglar alarms. She's a bit paranoid about it all.
"I wouldn't like to repeat what I'd say to them if I saw them."
West Mercia Police did not comment.
