Burglars’ new trick to break into your home: Thieves use a BLOWTORCH to enter house before stealing £33,500 worth of cars – including an Audi S1 – while family slept upstairs
- The criminals used the device to burn through the PVC in the front door
- Once inside they swiped wallets and the keys to the expensive vehicles
- Gutted Kerry called the stolen Audi S1 her ‘pride and joy’
Thieves used a blowtorch to break into a home and steal vehicles including an Audi S1 and an Ebike worth £33,000 as the unaware owners slept upstairs.
The criminals used the appliance to burn a hole through the PVC in the front door to gain entry.
Once inside they stole wallets and keys to a £25,000 Audi S1, as well as a £4,500 limited edition 2016 KTM 125 motorbike and a 2018 electric Devinci Ebike, valued at about £4,000.
Police say the method used to break in to the home in Derbyshire is unusual but are linking it to a similar crime that took place nearby.
Kerrie West woke up to find two thieves loading the expensive bikes into a van before driving off with her Audi on Tuesday
The criminals gained access to the home by burning through the PVC in the front door using a blowtorch before stealing wallets and keys to the expensive vehicles
Kerrie West, from Tideswell, was woken at about 2am on Tuesday and spotted the pair loading some of the stolen items in the back of a van.
But before the family were able to confront the robbers, the duo managed to speed off with the expensive items.
Ms West, a bodybuilder who owns her own fitness business, shared pictures of her ruined front door on Facebook as she appealed for help.
She wrote: “Stolen. Please share asap. My absolute pride and joy has been nicked.
Kerrie described the Audi S1 as her ‘pride and joy’ and appealed on Facebook for its return
The limited edition 2016 KTM 125 motorbike was also stolen during the crime, which police are linking to others in the local area
The 2018 electric Devinci Ebike, valued at about £4,000, lost to the thieves
“Around 2am in the morning two lads in a dark transit van broke into the house and took the keys. Not only this they have taken my purse, my dad’s wallet and other things.
“Please share”.
Derbyshire Constabulary has confirmed they were investigating the theft and said they believed it was linked to other break-ins in the area.
One user wrote under the post: “Absolute b******s. Hope they’re found very quickly and given their karma. Sorry that low life scum have done this.”
Another said: “Never heard of a blowtorch being used…you’re lucky you’re still here to write this post.
“…absolute scummy b******* they are.”
One user wrote: “The audacity of using a blowtorch now to force entry.”
Another commented: “Wow, they could have burned the house down and killed people.”
Gutted Kerrie’s Facebook post was shared thousands of times by friends and well wishers after she posted it earlier this week
A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Constabulary said: “At 3.15am on December 15, a house in Church Lane, Tideswell, was broken into.
“The thieves took a wallet and a set of keys, which they used to steal the victim’s yellow Audi S1. They also took a motocross trail bike and an electric Devinci bike.
“We are linking the theft to a similar crime that took place in the village that morning. At 3.50am, two men broke into a house in Tithe Barn Close.
They searched the house but didn’t steal anything.
“In both cases, a blow torch was used to break in through the door.
“This is an unusual crime and the victim’s were understandably left very upset. We are investigating and have been speaking to villagers to gather CCTV from the area.
“If you have any information, we would urge you to get in touch quoting reference 20000660662.”