Residents in Bottesford have been left “nervous and scared” following a spate of late-night incidents in which “opportunists” are descending upon their properties and trying to access their homes and cars.
Over the last few weeks, multiple residents in the area have reported suspicious activity taking place in the early hours, with one claiming the incidents have left her fearful for her and her children’s safety.
Another resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, captured one incident on a CCTV camera outside his property on Cambridge Avenue. He said the activity is “rife” in the area and believes the suspects are opportunists “trying their luck”.
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He told Scunthorpe Live: “We moved here in August last year and we only moved from about two miles from Lakeside to Bottesford so we haven’t moved very far. My partner grew up in Bottesford so she knows the area quite well, but this activity seems to have been going on since Christmas.
“For the last three months, we’ve got youths walking round the streets at night in tracksuits with their hoods up, trying car doors, house doors and gates, every night. We don’t know if it’s a new gang or group operating in the area, but it seems to be almost every night in the Bottesford area.
“I think it’s opportunists trying their luck. I wouldn’t say it’s hardened professional burglars, it’s very much opportunists. I don’t think they’re going out at night with a set plan, they’re going out and saying, ‘that house looks quite nice, they might have something I want’.”
(Image: Submitted)
Last month, the resident says he was awoken by an alert from his motion-sensor camera. When he looked outside his bedroom window, he spotted three men in masks – one standing at his car, one standing at his partner’s car and the other trying to gain access to his garage.
He continued: “I opened the curtains and shouted out the window and confronted them, and they all ran off. My neighbour had his number plates stolen the same night. People are fed up of it.”
Another resident on Endcliffe Avenue, who also wishes to remain anonymous, had her property targeted earlier this week, and said the incidents are leaving people in the area fearful.
She said: “It’s normally really quiet round here, you normally can’t hear anything. People are scared. It’s making me nervous because I’ve got two young kids. I did wake up on that morning at 3am and sensed someone was there, and I was thinking, ‘what would I do if they broke in?’.
“My kids are obviously in a different room and I’d have to go and grab them – things like this force you think about what you’d do if it happened. My partner gets really nervous and anxious about our safety, he slept downstairs last night and will probably do the same tonight.
“It’s not happening once every few months, they’re coming back week after week in Bottesford. It’s worrying and everyone’s getting really scared.”
Regarding one of the incidents which was reported last month, a spokesperson for Humberside Police said: “Officers were called at around 3:05am on Tuesday 13 February to reports of two people trying car door handles in the Cresta Drive area of Bottestford, Scunthorpe.
“Anyone who has information, or has CCTV or dashcam footage that may assist with our enquiries can contact us on our non-emergency number 101 quoting log 42 of 13 February.”
Regarding the incident on February 19, the force said: “We received reports at around 11.40pm on Monday 19 February of three people trying car door handles on Cambridge Avenue in Bottesford, Scunthorpe.
“If anyone has any information, or has CCTV or dashcam footage that may assist with our enquiries, please contact us on our non-emergency number 101 quoting log 603 of 19 February.”
Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
