South Yorkshire man’s house burgled in broad daylight the moment he leaves for overseas trip

James Goodman, from Braithwell, Rotherham, said he left home at 11.30am on Wednesday, November 17 to catch a flight to Spain in the afternoon.

But the moment he landed at the airport a few hours later, he received a text message from one of his children saying that a window was damaged and that the family van, which he also uses for work, was missing.

The 40-year-old service engineer said he believed that the incident happened within an hour of him leaving home, as the van was caught on his neighbours' CCTV 'being driven all over' the village around noon.

He said: “The thieves must have come around noon because the van went missing around 12 o'clock...they probably knew the house was empty.

“I don't know if we were being watched...it's a bit weird, they literally had like an hour window to steal the van and they managed to do it.”

The dad-of-four said apart from the van, the thieves also stole his childrens’ money left in a bedroom, among other things.

He added: “But he didn't take stuff like the laptop, which was just next to the van keys. It sounds like they came for the van.

“The van is heavily signed and it had rubber plaster all over it in different colours. It's the only one in the country, it stands out.

“God knows where it's gone and what they have done with it. It's hard to hide because it's very distinctive.

“It's got a lot of tools at the back, which are the main things I can't replace.”

‘We have got no enemies’

He said he was puzzled as to why he was targeted.

“It’s a really lovely, small village where everyone knows everybody...they have been watching us when we literally have got no enemies,” he said.

James, who is still in Spain, said he felt 'helpless' being away from his children and his partner knowing his home has been targeted.

“I am flying back on Monday, which seems like ages away to be honest,” he said.

He also said the family is changing the locks and installing motion sensor cameras in the wake of the raid.

Any witnesses to the incident are asked to call police on 101 quoting incident number 877 of 17 November

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