Victim tells of burglaries’ impact on her in campaign

A CRIME victim has spoken out as part of a police campaign to highlight the devastating impact caused by burglaries.

Mother-of-two Natalie Starr is helping West Yorkshire Police to highlight how “deeply distressing” burglaries can be after she returned home from a family dog walk to find her house had been raided.

The 35-year-old was out with her two young children, aged four and five, when she received a call from her neighbour to say she had seen her car being driven away from her Bradford home.

She said: “The biggest upset was actually going through the babies’ things and going through the children’s rooms and thinking there might be something expensive in a toy box or a baby’s memory box. That was the thing that was actually most disturbing, when you realise somebody’s been in your house.”

Over the space of a week, West Yorkshire Police will be releasing a series of extracts from her account. She has agreed to speak out to highlight how vulnerable the burglary made her feel and the devastating impact the breakin has had on her and her family.

She also tells of how, by setting up a Neighbourhood Watch group, she has allowed not only herself to recover, but has helped the wider community not to fall victim to crime.

The force has also put together crime prevention advice to help homeowners protect their possessions, including ensuring properties are locked and security alarms are set.