‘Police should do more’, says victim who had car stolen

A MAN who had his car stolen and abandoned in Henley says there should be a greater police presence to deter offenders.

Jason Dwyer had his Land Rover Discovery, which he had left in the car park of the Anchor pub on Tuesday last week, broken into and stolen.

A car matching its description was caught on a security camera driving up Friday Street the wrong way at 2.29am and again at 3.56am the following morning.

The car was later abandoned in Hamilton Avenue, off Vicarage Road. Mr Dwyer said the incident had cost him around £500 in total.

It was one of several cars that had been damaged and police have linked the incident to a burglary at Corner Copia in Friday Street on the same night.

Mr Dwyer told the Henley Standard: “I left the car in the Anchor car park and I went back the following day and saw that the shop in the street had been broken into and then that my car had gone. I have a tracker on it which alerted me that it had been moved. The thieves must have seen it had a tracker on it — it looks like an air tag and it was hanging in the car.”

Mr Dwyer found the car at around 8am in Hamilton Avenue, about 500m away from where he parked it. The front passenger window had been smashed.

Several items had been taken from the car, including a phone charger, satnav, a rucksack, driver’s licence and a diary.

“I was angry,” Mr Dwyer said. “They just took stuff that was only important to me, which is just a blow to me. Other than that, it’s just annoying. The police took the car away to have it checked for fingerprints and they believe they have found a fingerprint.”

Residents in roads close to Henley Railway Station were left counting the cost of thousands of pounds of damage. Several cars parked in Queen Street, Friday Street and Hamilton Avenue were broken into, many with windows smashed and items taken.

Mr Dwyer, who lives in Henley, said that the lack of police presence in the town does not help.

The public information desk at Henley police station was closed to save money in 2016, however the police patrol base in Greys Road remains active.

Mr Dwyer said: “How can somebody, at whatever time in the morning, go out and smash that amount of cars and stuff? It’s there for the taking.

“What is stopping people from just running riot? There has got to be some sort of deterrent, whether it’s cameras or police, it’s got out of hand.”

Bernd Altenburg, 82, who lives in Hamilton Avenue with his wife Karin, had their Citroën Berlingo broken into on the same night. Mr Altenburg, who is retired but does garden work for friends and family, said that the windows of the vehicle were smashed and a
£400 petrol-powered leaf blower was stolen from inside.

He said: “I went down about 10am because I do the garden for my daughter and the tools are in there. The driver’s window was smashed, and I had a look inside and went around the back, and the back window was smashed.

“My feeling at first was ‘blimey, I don’t get this’ but, on the other hand, I was glad when a passer-by said, ‘You’re not the only one’.”

Mr Altenburg, who has lived in the road for 22 years, said that there have been a handful of similar incidents on the road, but that it was becoming increasingly common.

He said: “In Reading, you are more watched. I haven’t seen a police man in Henley in years, there is less of a presence.”

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: “Over recent weeks, officers have focused on tackling antisocial behaviour and retail crime in Henley.

“Antisocial behaviour in the area has reduced by 14 per cent compared to the same period last year, reflecting the proactive work of the Henley neighbourhood team.”