Holiday family watch on video as home is burgled
A COUPLE on holiday watched in horror as a burglar raided their home after triggering CCTV cameras linked to their mobile phones.
Donna and Nathan Marusamy viewed live footage of the intruder prowling through rooms looking for valuables.
They alerted police and a family member but the crook escaped after grabbing prized jewellery and their passports.
Headteacher Mrs Marusamy, 37, said: “I was horrified, scared and helpless. I wish to God I hadn’t seen it unfold. It’s a violation of your own privacy.”
The couple and their two children were on a weekend break in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, when the thief broke into their home in Streetly, West Midlands, 120 miles away.
The hooded burglar, who walked with a heavy limp, set off a sensor when he crept into the couple’s back garden last Friday evening. The device then sent an alert to their mobile phones.
“We saw somebody in our back garden shining a torch light,” Mrs Marusamy said. “We thought, ‘It’s either a ghost or someone is in our garden.’
“We zoomed in and I said, ‘I think it is someone checking out our house.’ ”
The burglar then removed glass in the conservatory and stepped inside.
“I just wanted to scream and shout, but we were just totally speechless,” Mrs Marusamy said. “We called my brother-inlaw, who lives five minutes away and the police.
“He went on the driveway and shone a light through the house and the burglar then legged it.”
Valuables stolen in the raid included a wedding ring that belonged to Mr Marusamy’s father, a Rolex watch and other jewellery.
The couple are using social media in a bid to trace the thief. “I thought, ‘I am splattering your face everywhere,’ so I uploaded it to Facebook,” Mrs Marusamy said. “I am overwhelmed at the response of Birmingham and neighbouring cities, and even those abroad, trying to catch this guy.”