A PAIR of stone thieves were caught on camera as they raided a house In Bradford.

The brazen theft was the third at IT specialist Chris Sayles' end terraced home, in Halifax Road, Buttershaw, in six months.

After the second raid, two weeks ago, Mr Sayles installed CCTV cameras to protect his property. Now police are studying images from them after villains struck again.

Mr Sayles estimates the stone thefts, from his back yard and the side of his house, have cost around £4,000.

He said: "I am angry and frustrated. These people are just using us like a shop to get their stone, but without paying for it.

"You don't feel safe in your own home and you can't put anything nice out in the garden. Something needs to be done. The police say it is happening a lot, but it is such a difficult crime to detect unless you catch them in the act.

"Hopefully, the CCTV footage will be the breakthrough they need."

Mr Sayles said the cameras showed a blue Citroen van pulling up outside the property, shortly before 10am last Wednesday, and two men getting out. They are then seen taking the flags and putting them in the van before it is driven away.

"You can clearly see the men's faces," said Mr Sayles. "They are in their late 20s or early 30s and have short hair. One is wearing a grubby white T-shirt and the other is wearing a blue T-shirt with a distinctive logo and jeans."

The first theft happened towards the end of last year, when half a dozen stone flags were removed from the back yard while he was at work.

Another handful of flags were stolen from the yard when thieves struck again two weeks ago, prompting Mr Sayles to invest in the CCTV cameras.

He added: "After the latest theft I went through the CCTV footage and realised we had caught them on camera. Police advised us to share the images on social media. They also have officers patrolling, looking for the van, which they say is linked to another incident. They believe the thieves may be using cloned number plates.

"They are confident someone will be able to recognise the thieves from the images. Scenes of crime are also looking at a footprint that was left at the scene."

Mr Sayles now wants to sell up and move out of the area.

Sergeant Terri Green, of Bradford South Neighbourhood Policing Team, said they were investigating a number of incidents of paving stones being stolen from properties in the area.

She said: "Because of the high value of such stones there have been similar thefts in the Bradford area and we would again urge people to be vigilant and on the look out for thieves.

"If you see something suspicious, call the police. If you see people removing stones, help officers to catch them by taking down the registration of their vehicle where possible.

“I would also encourage people to be mindful and vigilant if you are offered stone below the market value as it could from a dishonest vendor."

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the police via 101 quoting crime reference number 13170248786, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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