A HOLBEACH woman has spoken of her fears after thieves broke into her home while she and her family were sleeping to search for keys to steal her new Mercedes C Class car.
Jane Francis (58), of Netherfield, had her car stolen from the front of her home in the early hours of Wednesday morning. It was found two days afterwards abandoned outside a primary school in Anne Road, Sutton Bridge.
Mrs Francis had parked her car on the drive on Tuesday because there was a problem with the garage.
She said: “My husband works shifts and he had fallen asleep downstairs and was there when the thieves broke in.
“The keys were hung out of direct view from doors or windows in the kitchen. My old Collie dog was in the kitchen. He’s 15 and all he does is sleep now – a couple of years ago he would have barked to warn us.
“What frightens me is what might have happened if the thieves had not been able to find the keys.”
Husband Gregory (54) was disturbed about 4am by the noise of a green car carrying three young white males leaving the area at speed.
As it was light, he called up to his wife to see if she had gone out early. Their son, Simon, was also asleep upstairs.
Jane said: “That was when we realised the car had been stolen. Now it’s been found I still feel sick to my stomach because I don’t know why the thieves did it. That stays with you.
“We are installing CCTV around the house – I just hope the police catch them now.”
A police spokesman said: “We term these as ‘Hanoi burglaries’, where the sole purpose of breaking into the house is to steal the keys to the car.
“Generally, burglars are only interested in the keys. If they weren’t able to find them, they would probably grab other valuables to make it worthwhile then move on. There are no instances in Lincolnshire that we can recall where any occupants of the home have been threatened to obtain the keys.
“As far as crime prevention goes, the best advice is to garage cars securely and, if not, parking high performance cars in front of less desirable vehicles can also help.”
Anyone with information about the theft can call police on 101.