Castleton thief steals from boot while woman sat in car

A woman had property stolen from her car just outside Rochdale Online offices at around 10:15am this morning (Friday 17 December).

Angela Berry was in a blue Vauxhall Astra, near the junction of Albion Street and Manchester Road, when someone opened her boot and stole two bags.

The boxes contained chocolates, wrapped in purple wrapping paper, and lottery tickets for her job.

“I don’t believe what’s happened,” she said. “Some random guy just took them and legged it. I’m shocked, more than anything.”

“There’s a lot of money in the tickets.”

She described the thief as a young man wearing blue jeans, a cream or white coloured jacket, and a dark bobble hat.

“He lifted the boot up and before I knew it he was off. I’m shaken more than anything, that someone would do that,” she said.

She said she always locks her car when she pulls over, but this time she was on her mobile phone and forgot. “I didn’t even think about someone opening my boot. It’s mental.”

Ms Berry asks for anyone who sees her chocolates or lottery tickets being sold, or anyone who is offered them, to contact the police.

A police spokesman said: “We received a call at 10:15 from a woman who said someone had stolen 2 boxes of lottery tickets and Christmas presents from her boot while she was sat in the car. The perpetrator was described as a young white male. Officers went to the scene and carried out a full area search, which so far has been unsuccessful.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call police in Rochdale on 0161 856 8549 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.