Residents on a Ruddington estate have been forced to deal with a spate of petty vehicle crime, with criminals breaking into cars and trying to steal a motorbike. Police have increased patrols in the Rushcliffe village in light of a sharp rise in crime, which neighbours say has left them "concerned".
A number of people living on the estate off Pasture Lane, situated in the west of Ruddington, have been effected by vehicle crime in the past few weeks, including retired firefighter Martin Molloy.
The 51-year-old said two people had got into his garden and attempted to steal his motorbike at around 2.30am on Tuesday, April 19. "They put the wheelie bin against the fence and jumped into the garden," he explained to Nottinghamshire Live.
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"They moved everything out of the way and tried to steal the bike. They went through a lot of effort to take it. Then my dog started barking which must have scared them off - it woke us up." After coming out the house, Mr Molloy noticed his wife's car had also been broken into.
"The car was locked so they must have used some gadget, luckily we don't keep anything in the cars," he continued. Josh Alfred, who lives in Jewitt Way, said thieves had also broken into his car "just days ago" and stolen spare change and the car's service book.
"I got up in the morning and noticed the boot was unlocked, it was closed but open, I lifted it up and thought it was a bit strange," recalled the 34-year-old structural engineer. "Then I saw the glove box was open and it started to click a bit. I saw all the change had gone and for some reason they had took the service book. I don't know what they would want to do with that."
Mr Alfred, who moved onto the estate around a year ago, added: "I'm not sure if I left the door open or not, there was nothing really in the car to take. They didn't take anything else thankfully - we've got to be careful that they're locked."
Mr Molloy said that the incidents had "affected the confidence" of residents on the estate, adding: "I was more annoyed that they were moving things around but it shook my wife a bit."
Carl Pierpoint, 42-year-old joiner who lives on the estate, suspects that the offenders are using a device to unlock the car doors. "There's been a few round here, two lads have been round trying [car] doors, it's a dead-end estate so it's quite quiet - especially at night," he said.
"They've got into my wife's car before and next door's. It would be nice to see a police presence, we just have to make sure we keep out doors locked all the time."
A 60-year-old resident, who wished to remain anonymous, added: "It happened to my daughter's car two weeks ago. She thought she had locked the car. Someone had rummaged round and checked everywhere for possessions. She's lucky nothing was taken.
"It was probably just an opportunist walking around and trying car doors, or some kids. She was a bit upset when it happened but she's okay now. We're concerned, you are when someone from your family gets their car broken into."
Inspector Rob Lawton, Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for Rushcliffe, said: “We are constantly assessing local crime trends and over the last week we have become aware of an increased number of vehicle crimes in the Ruddington area. As a result we have put in place some additional evening and overnight patrols in the local area to reassure residents.
“Although levels of vehicle crime have reduced, we fully appreciate the significant impact these offences can have on the community who rely on their cars for work and other responsibilities.
“We will do our utmost to find who is responsible for these offences and urge anyone with information to contact police on 101 quoting incident 40 of 19 April.”
