Parking attendant catches Bishop's Stortford RSPCA charity shop burglar in the act
A burglar was caught red-handed breaking in to a charity shop in Bishop's Stortford by an eagle-eyed parking attendant.
The civil enforcement officer then followed the intruder and, after calling police, kept an eye on him until officers arrived.
The crook struck at the Stort Valley branch RSPCA shop in The Dells, off South Street, at 5.45pm on Sunday (Dec 27). He smashed glass in the door to get in and then rifled through the store.
It is believed the parking attendant spotted the broken glass and, on investigating, saw the burglar in the shop.
Chair of trustees Wendy Harold told the Indie she was informed of the break-in by a fellow trustee who had seen the damage to the shop door.
Although she does not think anything was taken, Wendy said it was another blow to the charity after a very difficult year.
The shop opened in May 2019 but had not had the chance to get going after two coronavirus lockdowns had forced closure.
“The lack of volunteers has been a nightmare and this is so annoying – it’s an animal charity shop,” said Wendy.
The shop has been closed again after the tier 4 Covid-19 alert level was instigated, but Wendy said that as it was currently a crime scene staff were unable go in to run the eBay service.
“It’s a double blow for our branch as a lot of our funds go towards our subsidised veterinary clinic in Harlow,” she said.
The RSPCA offers free or subsidised treatment for pets for people in receipt of certain benefits. Wendy said demand in the area had “gone sky high”, with a 200% increase in people needing help.
“We’ve got over 10,000 animals registered at our Harlow clinic,” added Wendy, who has been a trustee at the charity for eight years and chair for five.
“It’s just heart-rending as so much time and effort goes into raising funds to help animals,” she said.
Wendy praised the actions of the parking attendant, saying it had ensured the burglar did not have time to take anything or to trash the shop.
“We would certainly like to extend our thanks to the parking attendant,” she said. “His actions saved the charity thousands of pounds.”
* Francis Keeley, 46, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary when he appeared at Hatfield Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (Dec 29). He was sentenced to eight weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to pay £100 compensation.