A couple feel ‘let down’ by the police, after it took them 48 hours to respond to their house being ransacked.
They returned from their holiday on Wednesday, September 17, to find their house had been broken into and their van taken.
The victims, of Sworder Close, who do not wish to be named, rang the police immediately, but were told they would be with them within 48 hours.
He said: “It is an absolute joke that it takes them 48 hours to come and see us after a robbery. When you ring 999, you expect the police to come straight away.
“When we opened the front door we realised it was not locked, we just pushed it and it opened, we walked in and the house looked like a bomb had hit it, absolutely everything had been riffled through and tipped onto the floors, nothing had been left untouched.
“We were on holiday for a week, we left on the Tuesday and we know that the alarm went off on the Wednesday at 8pm, because the neighbours heard it, they looked over at the house and saw nothing, it looks normal from the front because they got in through the back.
“My complaint is the system we have got, it took the police two days before they came out and took a statement, it is not good enough. We feel let down by them, we couldn’t ring the insurance because they want a crime reference number which we don’t have until the police come and we couldn’t start to sort our home out until the police had been.”
Jewellery, money, TVs and a van were all taken during the robbery.
The victim is a painter and decorator and the van was used for work and contained his work equipment.
He added: “Whenever we go away I hide the van keys and the spare ones, but they have gone through the whole house so carefully, in every single room, they have found them, opened the garage and took my van away, its got all my painting and decorating tools in the back of it.
“Those extra two days that the police took, has given them more time to sell the van and jewellery on.
“I know they are short on resources but when you ring the police on 999 you expect an immediate response.
His wife said: “We have lost so much, I do not feel safe, it is horrible, to think someone has broken into our home and gone through all our belongings, our clothes, our bedroom, it is a massive invasion of privacy.
“The jewellery was from my mother who has passed away, it is sentimental, irreplaceable.
“The police add to this nightmare by taking so long to come and see us.
A spokesperson for the police said: ‘Bedfordshire Police received a report of a burglary in Sworder Close, Luton on 17th September. The resident had been away on holiday and the offence could have happened anytime between 9th and 17th September.
“As the offence was not in progress and no one was in any danger an appointment to see the victim was made for 19th September. House to house enquiries were undertaken and CCTV in the area checked.
“The vehicle stolen was recorded on to the national PNC database. If the victim is unhappy with the service provided we would encourage him to contact the force direct and we will look in to his complaint.”
He added: “Everything was locked up, and the house was alarmed, we could not have done anything else to be more secure, we want to make people aware that there are people going round and breaking into homes. We do not want anyone else to go through this,
“I think the system needs to change and the response time should be quicker.
“If anyone has seen a white vauxhall combo van, registration LT11 NDG, please call the police on 101.”