Heartless thief steals fuel from Staffordshire family whose house was wrecked by fallen tree during Storm Dave
The family have already suffered the loss of their beloved pet cat and both of their cars.
A family forced out of their home when a tree toppled over onto it and caused catastrophic damage have suffered another cruel blow, after a thief siphoned their cars’ fuel.
The residents in two semi-detached houses in Windsor Crescent, Kinver, had their lives turned upside down when a huge tree brought down by Storm Dave smashed into their roof and crushed two cars on Saturday night (April 4).
Fortunately no people were hurt, though Marshall, a beloved pet cat belonging to one of the families, sadly died, devastating Georgia Butler’s eight-year-old daughter.
And now Ms Butler said an opportunistic thief has compounded their misery by siphoning the fuel from their cars as they lay wrecked on their driveway.
Ms Butler told the Express & Star the theft had been discovered yesterday (April 6) when her father-in-law went to remove the fuel from the Volkswagen Tiguan and Ford van himself.
“Our cars that were full of diesel have been emptied by someone overnight, I presume siphoned out.
“My husband’s dad who is a mechanic has just come to do it and they are dry as a bone, nothing left in them. It would’ve been last night.”
Ms Butler said the Tiguan had been “full to the brim” and the Ford had been half full.
“I rang the police, I’ve been told to call 101 but I haven’t got time to hold as I’m waiting for calls back from the RAC et cetera.
“I can’t believe this.”
Firefighters were called to Windsor Crescent at about 10pm on Saturday to reports a tree had fallen and damaged property, while heavy winds were battering the region.
The tree tore a hole in the roof of the semi-detached houses and crushed the two vehicles parked outside. Both affected families have been staying with loved ones since the storm.
Ms Butler told the Express & Star she was grateful for friends, family and “people I didn’t even know” who spent “their whole Easter Sunday removing the tree off the cars so that we could remove our cat from the wreckage and give him a burial”.
Ryan Bridgewood, who lives in the other affected house, had told the BBC: “We just heard an almighty crash, it was like an earthquake had hit the house. I've looked at those trees swaying in the wind before and have been worried about them.
"As soon as I heard the bang, I looked outside and saw the tree leaning on the house and I feared for my kids' lives."