CCTV footage shows a man appearing to stab a £350 paddleboard outside of a water sports equipment store in Barry. The criminal damage happened outside of the Tangaroa Watersports Equipment store on Broad Street in Barry on the morning of Sunday, July 2.
Owners of Tangaroa, Sarah and Nigel Evans, said they are now "scared" for their safety. On Sunday morning, Sarah said she was alone at the store opening up for the day when a man she described as "intimidating" approached. She says, "I had a creepy feeling about him and I didn't want him to come in." As he tried to enter the store, Sarah politely asked for him to leave as she told him the store was not open yet.
Hours after the man left, Sarah noticed that the paddleboard outside of the shop was deflated. It was not until reviewing the CCTV footage with her husband, Nigel, that she realised the man she spoke to earlier on had come back to stab the £350 paddleboard, destroying it.
The couple opened Tangaroa in August 2022, after using the space as an antiques store previously. They dedicate their lives to their shop, both working seven days a week.
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Sarah says she has been left "really really scared" after the incident and has had sleepless nights since. She and Nigel have sat up watching their CCTV cameras in bed worried that something else might happen. Nigel says, "I fear for my safety, for my families safety and my children."
After speaking to the South Wales Police, they were told it would be classed as a level 4 priority, meaning that it did not require an immediate response and an officer would visit them within 48 hours.
Nigel and Sarah are upset that officers have not yet been to speak to them or see the damage. They do not feel that the police have done enough to help them and Sarah feels that they have been left "investigating (their) own crime."
A spokesperson from South Wales Police told WalesOnline : "South Wales Police is investigating criminal damage to a paddleboard outside a shop in Broad Street, Barry, on Sunday, July 2. We recognise that being a victim of crime, such as criminal damage, is distressing. CCTV has been recovered and enquiries are on-going to identity the person responsible."
