PINETOWN residents Leighann and Andrew Hall were left traumatised after their home was burgled on Wednesday 23 October after 11am.
Their son, Elton, discovered their ransacked home at approximately 3.30pm.
“When my son phoned me to say that our gate had been derailed and that our belongings were scattered across the house I feared that the thieves could still be in the house. I immediately told him to get out of the house and to go to his aunt’s house down the street,” said Leighann.
Leighann was especially distraught that a sentimental family ring had been stolen during the robbery.
“That ring cannot be replaced, and it breaks my heart that they took it. In addition to the R1800 they also stole thousands of rands worth of other jewellery from our safe. My son’s Xbox was also stolen. They were very selective with regards to what they took, as they spread all of my jewellery across my bed and picked out certain items. They also left my son’s cellphone, which was on his desk in his bedroom,” said Leighan.
According to Andrew the burglary was also an extreme violation of the Hall’s privacy, and has made them blatantly aware of their vulnerability.
“When Leighann told me that we had been burgled I feared for our animals, who were left inside our home. Our dog is very old and we keep her inside where it is safe, and then they break into our house.
”I was scared that they might have harmed her or our cat. Luckily, they were both unharmed,” said Andrew.
The Halls reported that they will be increasing the security measures around their home and are attempting to initiate a neighbourhood watch for their area.
“There is definitely the fear that they might return. They know the layout of my house, so we have to be more proactive.
”It is shocking that we have to live like prisoners in our own home,” said Leighann.
Andrew also reported that thieves had broken into a shed in the bottom of their yard on several occasions, prior to the burglary.
“They have broken into the shed a few times, but they have never before entered our home. After we removed the valuables from the shed, they drew a smiley face that was stabbed with a knife against the shed wall,” said Andrew.
