‘Heartbroken’ after vandalism

Sandy Mills, of Voce Court, and her neighbours Derek and Pauline Robinson have all been left devastated in recent weeks after mindless acts of vandalism.

Sandy had her mobility scooter stolen and severely damaged while the Robinsons had their motor home wrecked.

Sandy, 47, suffers from osteo-arthritus, lipo-lymphoedemas and acute calcific tendinitus and is dependent on her mobility scooter.

“Without it, I would be confined to the boundaries of my council-adapted, warden-aided bungalow,” she said.

On Tuesday 1st May, after returning from town to pick up her prescription, she parked her scooter outside her house.

“In less time than it took me to go indoors and put my bags down, my scooter was wheeled away and stolen,” said Sandy. “I was dumb-founded and left not knowing what to do. I just broke-down and was unable to take in what had happened.”

Then, on Friday 4th May, while Sandy was preparing for her sister-in-law’s funeral, she went outside to find her scooter returned - but trashed.

Sandy continued: “My once-lovely mode of transport had been stripped bare and damaged. My shopping bag and walking stick holder were gone, along with my tax disc, Help the Heroes plaque and all of my decorative stickers.”

“My scooter was left with cracked and scratched body-work, damage to the steering column and caked in mud.”

“While this has been a terrible ordeal, I’d like to thank my neighbours Pauline and Derek, as well as Maureen, my insurers the staff at Eco-Scooters and the local police. Every last one of you were of great help and support and your kindness has restored my faith in human-nature”

On Friday 4th May, as Pauline and Derek Robinson were planning days out and trips away for summer, they too were also shocked to find that their 1989 Auto-Sleeper motor home had been vandalised - one year on since it was broken into last time.

“It’s the only vehicle we’ve got,” said Derek. “My son is in hospital having a hernia operation and this has meant that we haven’t been able to visit him.”

“It’s left my wife house-bound and she is absolutely heart-broken. We don’t want to have to go through all of this again so we are going to sell it.”

He continued: “They’ve done about £500 - £600 worth of damage and because the vehicle is so old, it’s been a nightmare for the garage to find the parts that they need.”

The vandals tampered with locks and smashed a large window which set off an alarm which awoke the Robinsons and their neighbours. The couple are pensioners and Pauline is disabled.

“We can think of no reason for these break-ins as those responsible would have gotten nowhere. In fact, all they have done, once again, is break the hearts of two, kindly pensioners.”

Derek added: “There has always been a problem with vandalism around here. We’d like to see more CCTV to protect us because it’s all getting a bit much.”

“It may seem like petty crime to whoever is doing this but they don’t appreciate the true damage that they’re doing. It’s going to cost us a lot of money and heart-ache. My wife has been in tears ever since wnad for what? Just for the sake of someone causing trouble.”

A spokesman from Notts Police said: “We have been conducting house-to-house enquiries regarding and looking at CCTV footage. Our enquiries are ongoing and we would encourage anyone with any information to please get in touch with us, or for any with concerns about any issues in their area to speak to your local beat team.”

Contact Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.