Heartless thieves steal baby gear
THEY STOLE CAR BEFORE PINCHING £1,500 OF EQUIPMENT
MUM of twins Angela Ratcliffe had double trouble when her car was stolen from her driveway.
Not only was she left without a vehicle, she had almost £1,500 of baby equipment stolen.
Angela put her quandary on Facebook and her request to help find her silver Honda FRV, 55 reg, went to scores of people in the North Tyneside area.
And even though the police were on to it, her £2,500 car was found by an eagle-eyed passer-by – only three streets away from where it was taken.
Angela breathed a sigh of relief when she got the message that her vehicle had been found in nearby Oaktree Gardens and contacted the police to meet her there.
She thought her worries were over but discovered her two swivel car seats for her 16-month-old twin boys worth £750 had been stolen, along with their £495 Maclaren double stroller pram, changing bag, clothes and two pairs of little wellies. The thieves also took her new £120 sat-nav.
“The car was locked and didn’t look damaged, I think they stole the car for the expensive baby equipment inside. The thieves cleared the car out, it was totally empty,” said Angela, of Monkseaton.
“I bought the swivel car seats because I underwent major surgery in January to repair my abdominal wall which had torn during pregnancy.
“It was the only way I could get Humphrey and Gerard in and out of the car.
“The double pram was bought by my mum, while their clothes, changing bag and wellies were also gone.
“I’m only insured for £300 worth of baby equipment and £100 for my personal belongings. My insurance doesn’t cover anywhere near what was taken.”
Angela was already having a nightmare week when Gerard needed to be taken to hospital with croup then, after her car had been stolen, Humphrey developed breathing problems and Angela had to ring for an ambulance to take him to A&E at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington.
She added: “I had to call an ambulance where as I would have normally been able to take him in my car. It was a complete waste of public expenditure.
“He had to stay in overnight and because I didn’t have my car it made it very difficult.”
Angela, who lives with partner Stephen Drew, 37, added: “The car was on our driveway when we went to bed on Wednesday and then it was gone when we woke up the following morning.
“I immediately phoned the police and reported our car missing.
“They said it had been spotted by the road cameras 15 minutes later on Beach Road.
“At around 4.45pm I put it out on Facebook and the following day a man called Paul Hughes had spotted it in Oaktree Gardens and posted a picture of my Honda.
“I couldn’t believe it, I rang the police and met them at the car but it was empty, everything had gone.
“My car isn’t the tidiest but it was totally cleaned out, everything had gone.
“Baby equipment is expensive and especially the swivel seats, which I have to have because of my operation. It’s just been awful.”
Anyone with information can contact police on 101 quoting reference 159 of 11/05/17