We woke at 1am and saw the thieves at work
WHEN Annabel Kane was woken at 1am by the sound of car doors slamming and a group of men talking loudly outside her home, she wished the revellers would keep the noise down.
But moments later, her annoyance turned to fear as she heard the sound of a power tool on the driveway of her Hertfordshire home – and looked out of an upstairs window. The 46-year-old mother of three saw five men crowded around her husband Paddy’s Mazda MX-5 car.
Paddy, 48, says: ‘They were dressed in hoodies and baseball caps. My wife shouted at the top of her voice for them to clear off, but they ignored her.’ Paddy, who runs
The Laughing Bishops Comedy Club in Bishop’s Stortford, said that within a couple of minutes they had jacked up the car, cut off the converter with a cordless angle grinder, and driven off.
The police arrived half an hour after the crime had been reported. They sent an email a month later stating ‘the case was closed’ as the criminals and the stolen car part had not been found. Patrick says: ‘I’ve been unable to drive the car because I cannot find a replacement converter. Fakes are available on websites such as eBay for £80 but the real thing costs £400 and is out of stock wherever I ask. The total bill might top £500 – which is my insurance excess.’