Family disappointed at South Yorkshire Police response to £20,000 ram raid

A South Yorkshire family has expressed disappointment at the police response to a ram raid which caused £20,000 worth of damage.
Ram raiders attempted to steal an 11,000 quad from a garage in RotherhamRam raiders attempted to steal an 11,000 quad from a garage in Rotherham
Ram raiders attempted to steal an 11,000 quad from a garage in Rotherham

Crooks reversed an old style Mitsubishi Shogun into the internal garage of a bungalow on Wortley Road, Thorpe Hesley, in an attempt to steal an £11,000 quad parked inside.

CRIME: Woman suffers suspected broken arm in street robbery in Doncaster They destroyed an electric garage door and the quad itself, which was left behind at the crime scene.

Ram raiders attempted to steal an 11,000 quad from a garage in RotherhamRam raiders attempted to steal an 11,000 quad from a garage in Rotherham
Ram raiders attempted to steal an 11,000 quad from a garage in Rotherham
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The electricity meter was also damaged in the attack, cutting off the power supply to the family home.

The raid was captured on CCTV, with the footage showing the offenders pulling up on the driveway and crashing into the gate post just seconds before a police car drove by.

Ram raiders caused 20,000 worth of damage in Thorpe Hesley, RotherhamRam raiders caused 20,000 worth of damage in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
Ram raiders caused 20,000 worth of damage in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham

The crooks drove off after their near miss with the police but returned a few minutes later to carry out the ram raid.

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South Yorkshire Police was contacted about the raid on Friday afternoon, but it took three days before an officer made contact with the victims.

Jamie Redfern, aged 28, whose dad Paul owns the quad, said: “The quad was my dad’s pride and joy, he used to ride it out to Ladybower for a quiet drive on Sunday afternoons. Someone obviously knew he had it and wanted it.

“It was bent in the raid and has been written off now, so with the value of that, the damage to the garage door and all the contents behind it which were also destroyed, this was a £20,000 raid but it was treated like the theft of a chocolate bar from a shop.

“I had to phone and phone and phone the police but it was three days before anyone called my dad. You are supposed to feel that you can rely on the police when you need them, but this has not been the case and we just feel disappointed and let down.”

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He said he has carried out his own investigative work to help identify the culprits, even gathering sightings of the 4x4 used in the raid.

He has also found witnesses to the raid.

Jamie added: “I’ve done a lot of the hard work for them and in one of the calls I made to 101 I was even asked by an operator to go to the local shop to ask them not to record over their CCTV footage from that day. Surely victims of crime should not be expected to do this?” 

Inspector Jennifer Lax, of the Rotherham Neighbourhood Team, said: “Due to the volume of 999 calls we receive, we have to prioritise those where there is an immediate threat to life or property. “Unfortunately we cannot always attend those where the suspects have left the scene.

“Despite not responding immediately, an officer has been allocated and we will be working closely with the victim whilst the investigation is underway.”

Anyone with information should call South Yorkshire Police on 101 and quote incident 430 of March 8.