SOMERSET NEWS: Charity Christmas display ransacked by callous thieves

A FAMILY’S Christmas display aimed at raising money for charity has been targeted by thieves.

The Carver family have spent the past eight years putting up a display of ornamental Christmas lights to raise money for charity, at their home in Burnt House Lane, Stoke St Michael, Shepton Mallet.

This year they were raising money for the Bristol Royal Infirmary’s Children’s Ward.

Around ten of the display ornaments were stolen on the evening of Thursday, December 8, 2016, with the offenders damaging a fence during the theft.

The stolen ornaments included five skiers, a stacking snowman, two reindeer, a reindeer and sleigh and a Santa on a motorbike.

PC Greg Power said: “This crime completely goes against the spirit of Christmas and has deprived a hospital’s children’s ward of much-needed funds.

“It’s a very rural location but I believe someone must know who has stolen these items and I’d appeal to them to have a heart and call us with information.

“Despite the thief or thieves’ actions, the charity display is still going ahead this year which is a testament to the family’s dedication to raising money for local charities.”

If you have any information about this theft, please call police on 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5216272708. 

Following this incident, police are offering some crime prevention tips to residents wanting to safeguard their festive displays. 

You could think about installing Passive Infra-Red (PIR) lighting around the property, which could be used in conjunction with a CCTV system, or you could consider using wildlife cameras. 

Cheaper crime prevention tips include marking all decorations/ornaments with your postcode using indelible pens or an etching tool, as well as creating a photo catalogue of your items, including photos showing where they have been marked.

Tags:
News.