Thief used wallet taken from car to buy scratchcards
DRIVER’S SIDE WINDOW SMASHED
A Smash-and-grab thief destroyed a car window and then used their ill-gotten gains to buy just £30 worth of scratchcards.
Chris, 30, and his partner Callum became aware of the theft when they saw the damage to their vehicle in the early hours of Friday morning.
The car had been parked overnight on Thursday when the thief smashed the driver’s side window, making off with a wallet stored in the driver’s side door. The thief had ignored other valuable items and instead rushed to a local Tesco to buy just £30 worth of scratchcards.
The car owner saw the transaction had been made when he checked his account and was paid for through contactless payment.
Chris’ partner Callum said: “Chris works hard and long hours, it’s not that long ago that he finished paying the finance off by paying extra on the car.
“He takes pride in keeping his car in best condition.
“Due to how much the insurance would charge and the loss of no claims plus his premiums going up, he is having to pay for a new window out of his own pocket.
“He has had to take the day off to ring round to find a new window because until he does, he can’t drive the car.
“We were supposed to go out with his grandparents tonight who are nearly 90 and they rely on Chris taking them places.
“This has had to be cancelled due to safety. It’s going to cost a lot to have the window replaced and fitted.”
After smashing the window of the car, the thief made off with a Vivienne Westwood green plaid wallet with black trim and black button clasp concealed in the driver’s side door compartment.
Callum said the wallet has more sentimental value to Chris rather than there being much of monetary value inside.
He was quick to block his cards after discovering the break-in.
The contents included his driving licence, memorabilia from holidays the couple have been on, receipts for important goods and dog photos.
Callum said: “He is devastated, infuriated and saddened that all the inconvenience and damage was for £30 in scratchcards.
“Tesco Bricknell Avenue was really helpful and assisted me when I went into the store. They are fully aware of what the guy looks like and have clear CCTV of him using Chris’ card to buy the scratchcards.
“The card was used at 9.30pm, so the break-in to Chris’ car would have been shortly before that. It’s a prime example of why contactless limits should be set by the account holder and not by banks.
“Chris has had to ring and cancel all his cards that were in his wallet and has now asked for a non-contactless card.”