Spent force

SIR – Pending the installation of some new, boxed kitchen equipment, we stored it in our very secure garage. One morning, however, it had all gone.

I asked our neighbours if any of them had a security camera. It turned out that one had a sophisticated system, which showed a white van parked on the main road. Two men with clearly visible features could be seen walking down our cul de sac. They walked into our drive and, 10 minutes later, returned to the van, which they drove to our house. The registration number was visible. Ten minutes later the van drove to the main road and turned left. This was between 3 am and 3.20 am.

The system allowed my neighbour to discover that the van was taxed and insured. He put everything on to a memory stick, which we gave to the police (Letters, November 16). When I rang to follow up, I was told they could do nothing as they did not see the equipment being loaded into the van. Besides, we were “obviously” insured. Patrick White

London SW20

SIR – Oliver Barratt’s letter (“Rural crime”, November 15) reminded me of when we lived in a rural southern county. My sister-in-law, who was due to visit, hated gnomes, so I purchased a 24in reclining gnome and placed it at the entrance to our drive. Two hours later it had been stolen.

Like Mr Barratt, I reported the matter to the police, as I also thought that, if there were other thefts in the area, the information might be useful.

I didn’t expect a response. But three weeks later, on a Saturday afternoon, while we were enjoying the garden with some guests, we were joined, via a back gate, by a uniformed police inspector, who apologised for the intrusion, then told me that he had come to see if I needed counselling. Peter R Westacott

Swaffham, Norfolk