Burglar came in through skylight
FRIGHTENED FEMALE STUDENTS WERE INSIDE HOUSE AT THE TIME
FOUR women were left terrified after a break-in on the third floor of their student house in Nottingham.
The Nottingham Trent University students say they heard a suspicious noise coming from one of the top bedrooms of the property in Portland Road, the Arboretum, at 11.30pm on March 10.
The women were sitting in the lounge together when Harriette Joseph, 20, noticed that the skylight on the third floor was wide open after she went to the toilet.
After checking the top-floor bathroom, the students tried to enter the nearest bedroom to discover the door was locked.
Danni Atkinson, a 20-year-old psychology and criminology student at NTU, described it as “a heartdropping moment when the realisation hit that there was someone inside our home”.
The women ran downstairs and shut themselves in the kitchen so they could call the police.
Police officers arrived within minutes and looked at the skylight where the intruder was suspected to have entered. No items have been taken from the residence, the students confirmed.
Ms Joseph, a second-year student, said: “I don’t feel safe knowing someone is preying on the streets where lots of vulnerable students live, it makes me not want to live there.”
Another resident of the house, law student Ffion Tunbridge, 20, said: “I was asleep in my room and woke up to the sound of police.
“It frightened me and makes me feel uneasy sleeping in my own home.”
The incident happened after an attemoted break-in at a neighbouring property just two days earlier.
Police Sergeant Bruce Clarke, who is leading the investigation, said: “It was reported residents were downstairs when an alleged intruder was in a bedroom upstairs inside.
“Police were swiftly on the scene and no one was found.
“Burglary is a very serious offence that can have lasting consequences on victims, often leaving them feeling scared in their own homes.
“We are working hard to establish who is behind the attempted burglary and to make sure they are brought to justice.
“We are also aware of a similar incident on Portland Road on March 8.
“We will continue to conduct specific patrols targeting burglary in the area along with colleagues from our Criminal Investigation Department.
“We continue to work closely with the city council, as well as working with both universities.
“If anybody in the area saw or heard anything suspicious in the area around the times stated then please call Nottinghamshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 21000137321, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”