Thieves break into walkers’ vehicles

FOUR cars were broken into in Swyncombe while the owners were out walking in the countryside.

Thieves smashed the windows of the vehicles, which were parked outside St Botolph’s Church, and stole valuables at about 2pm on Friday.

The owners were members of a walking group.

Michael Hatch’s SEAT Ateca had the rear window and passenger side rear window smashed and his rucksack and coat taken.

His wife, Eveleen, from Henley, said: “There was shattered glass everywhere, all over the seats and parcel shelf.

“The windows must have been hit with something heavy as it broke three quarters of the glass.

“Michael noticed when he came back from his walk. He was walking with the Oxford Continuing Education course called ‘Walking the path’ and some of his other group members noticed their cars had been smashed too. I believe others had their wallets stolen.”

Mr Hatch, 68, lost protective glasses, gloves and other specialist equipment he used for his weekly volunteering at Warburg Nature Reserve, near Henley, worth about £200.

His wife said: “I want to raise awareness because it was horrible.

“He gets very stressed and the damage upset him more than anything.

“He is a grandfather of three and it’s not nice for something like this to happen at his age when he is out and about.

“He is very upset and it has affected his mental health. He already had difficulty sleeping and this hasn’t helped.

“I called the police who said they would keep an eye on it but without any evidence, they can’t follow anything up.”

Police are appealing for witnesses. If you have any information, call 101 and quote reference number 43230219813.