WESTCLIFF: Car stolen in burglary

Detectives are appealing for information in connection with a house burglary in Westcliff – in which criminals stole a car before later crashing it.

The break-in happened on Grosvenor Road sometime between 3pm Monday, July 26 and 2am Tuesday, July 27 when thieves stole the keys to a Toyota.

The car was then driven away, before being involved in a smash.  It happened just after 2am on Ruskin Avenue when the car smashed into a wall.  Regardless of this, the thieves continued, striking two parked vehicles on East Street.

They then ran off towards Pritlewell Railway Station, leaving the car to be recovered by police.
Investigating Officer, Pc Craig Davis, told longpier.com:

“The owners only realisd their car had been stolen when we contacted them after the collisions. During the course of our initial enquiries, we know that quite a few people saw the burglars run off the from the crash scene. We would like these witnesses to get in touch with us so that we can obtain a description of the criminals and arrest them before they strike at someone else’s house.”

A police dog attended the scene, but was unable to track the scent of the thieves. Detectives will be looking to see if the original burglary and subsequent collisions have been captured on CCTV.

Anyone with information in connection with this burglary is urged to contact investigating officers at Southend police station on 0300 333 4444.