A family have been ‘devastated’ after ‘brazen’ thieves stole a bike from a carport outside their home.
Three people were filmed by security camera approaching their property and lighting a torch apparently looking for the bike – one of them was ‘wielding huge bolt cutters’.
A second video then shows a bicycle removed from outside in front of the property near Preston, Weymouth.
Carole Collins, who was at home with two young children at the time of the incident, said the e-bike was bought second-hand for £3,000 and was completely ‘hidden, covered and securely locked’ on Monday 21 November when it was taken shortly after 9 p.m.
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She said: “They obviously knew what they were looking for. It wasn’t until the next morning that we noticed it. I raced to school as usual and when I got back I noticed the blankets had been moved and that’s when we realized the bike had been taken.
“I don’t feel like they just fell on the bike, they came with bolt cutters so no matter how we secured the bike they knew what they were looking for.”
Ms Collins said she felt ‘helpless’ and her youngest child was unable to sleep on her own.
She said: ‘I’m so angry about it, how cheeky they were. We live in an idyllic, tucked away neighborhood and have never had anything like it before. I lived here for 18 years and it shocked me, really: I never felt so in danger like that.
The bike, Ms Collins explained, was important to her teenage son who has Loey’s-Dietz syndrome – a rare genetic connective tissue syndrome.
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She said: “It’s been such an important part of our lives, especially for my son, because it gave him the freedom to exercise and not worry about his illness. It’s devastating and obviously for those who took the bike it only has monetary value, but for us it’s so much more.
A Dorset Police spokesman said: “Between 9.09pm and 9.13pm on Monday November 21, 2022, it was reported that an e-bike was stolen from an address in the Preston area of Weymouth.
“Investigations are ongoing into the report. No arrests have been made.
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