Burglars target home after residents leave for prayers

After leaving town for a religious prayer in Glencoe, a local couple were shocked to hear that their house had been broken into shortly after they had left Newcastle on Saturday.

“When we were in Glencoe, we received a phone call from our security company, Chubb, to say our home alarm had been activated. We called our son to go and check and immediately left Glencoe to go back home.”

The couple’s son who had remained behind, rushed home to see lights on inside the home, which was a cause of concern as he had switched the same lights off before he had left the house.

Security guards then escorted him in the house to determine whether there was anyone still in the home.

While the burglars had escaped, their handiwork remained behind.

The burglars had used a piece of steel, a spade and a car part to break the burglar guards placed by the couple’s bedroom window.

“They made a hole in our bedroom door to get through to the other rooms. There is a security eye in our room and they might have thought leaving the door closed might not trigger the alarm.”

Clothing, a video camera, camera, jewellery and R1 000 in cash were stolen in the burglary.

While no one was hurt, the couple urge Newcastle residents to leave nothing lying around their yards, garden implements included.

“They used my own spade and a piece of steel to gain access to our house. Rather lock things up in a tool shed.”

The couple concluded by thanking the security company. “They really reacted quickly. We would also like to thank our family and friends for their support.”