HOW CAN I BRING A BABY INTO THIS?
Mum-to-be’s dream home is ransacked
MUM-TO-BE Sophie Hall thought she had found the perfect house to bring her new baby daughter home to.
But the pregnant 22-year-old has been left devastated after thieves ransacked the council property just days before she had been due to move in.
Sophie, whose baby is due in less than three months, had been anxiously waiting to find a home that she could make safe and comfortable before the arrival of her first child.
And she was delighted when a house on Rookwood Road, in Slatyford, Newcastle, not far from her family, became available.
But before she had even had a chance to move in, thieves smashed their way into the empty property and helped themselves to a new television and baby clothes she had left there.
And Sophie says she is now terrified to sleep in what was supposed to be her dream home, alone.
She said: “I was absolutely devastated. Everyone had said that street was lovely and there was no bother there. How can I bring a baby into this? I wanted to have my house all ready for my baby coming.
“I just wanted to know I was bringing her home to somewhere safe. When I got that house I thought it was perfect. It just felt right, it felt too good to be true.”
Sophie, who is now 29 weeks pregnant, had been on the waiting list for a council property throughout her pregnancy.
With her first child on the way she had been hoping to find somewhere close to where her mum Kim lives, in Newbiggin Hall.
Sophie, who works as a 111 callhandler, jumped at the chance to get the home on Rookwood Road, after being told what a nice, quiet street it was, and picked up the keys on Tuesday.
With her daughter busy at work, Kim began moving Sophie’s belongings into the house and the mum-to-be planned to spend her first night in the property this week.
But when Kim went to drop some furniture off last Thursday morning she discovered the unoccupied house had been burgled.
“I had been to Ikea to get her some furniture and when I went to open the front door the chain was on,” she said. “So I went round to the side door and when I walked in, the back window was hanging out. It had been smashed.”
Mum-of-four Kim called the police then texted her daughter asking her to meet her at the house so she could deliver the devastating news.
“I went to the street and I saw the police van there and it all seemed like a blur,” said Sophie. “My mum was crying and she was just telling me to stay calm. I felt my body go weak and my mum carried me to the house.”
And Kim added: “She was going to move in today and she was really looking forward to getting it ready for the baby,” she said. “She really wanted this house. She was really, really excited, she felt really at home there. She was devastated. We all are.”
The burglars took Sophie’s new telly and baby clothes, and also rummaged through her bags and suitcases that had been waiting to be unpacked in the bedroom.
However, the mum-to-be is now determined not to let the raiders win, and plans to work hard to get her new home ready for her unborn daughter, and erase every trace of their crime.
“Why should I let someone like that scare us?” she said. “I’m going to try and make this house my own. Obviously I will be terrified to stay there at first, but my mum won’t let me go until there are alarms there. I think once I decorate it and make it my own, I will feel better.”
And Kim added: “We just want to get the house secure. She’s really worried about security now, we all are. We will have to take turns having sleepovers until she feels safe.”
A Northumbria Police spokeswoman confirmed the burglary was being investigated.
She said: “At about 1.15pm, March 16, police received a report of a burglary dwelling at an address on Rookwood Road in Denton Burn. The incident is believed to have occurred some time between the evening of March 15 and the morning of March 16.
“The offender entered through a rear window and stole a number of items. Enquiries are ongoing to identify the person responsible.”
Anyone with any information should call Northumbria Police on 101 and quote reference number 475 16/03/18.