Fury as CCTV fails to stop break-ins

9:12am Thursday 8th November 2007

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OUT of order CCTV cameras are to blame for a spate of thefts from cars parked at Westbury Train Station, a commuter has claimed.

Andrew Davis, 36, has had his car broken into twice in the space of seven weeks, and on both occasions it was parked in the main public car park at the train station.

It first happened on September 10, when the drivers' side window was smashed and his stereo taken, and he was targeted again on Wednesday last week.

He said: "I've heard the CCTV cameras are not working and haven't been for over a year, and I'm sure if they were these break-ins would either not have happened or the people who did it would have been caught.

"It's just wrong really because you pay to use the car park and then when something like this happens, First Great Western just quote the fact that you park your car there at your own risk, when their cameras are not working."

As well as his own vehicle Mr Davis said he is aware of other cars being broken into over the past couple of months, including a total of four last Wednesday.

He feels so strongly that action needs to be taken to prevent more cars being targeted, that he has written to West Wiltshire MP Dr Andrew Murrison to make him aware of the situation.

Mr Davis lives in Frome, but commutes to work in Bristol each day from Westbury.

He said: "I take the car to Westbury because there are more trains to Bristol from Westbury than there are from Frome, and as I start work early sometimes it makes things much easier.

"Although I've had my car broken into twice, even though there was nothing in it for them to steal the second time, I'm still parking at Westbury because if I don't want to interrupt my journey I don't really have any other choice."

A First Great Western spokesman said: "I can confirm that we've had some incidents of cars being broken into, and we are taking this very seriously indeed.

"If anybody knows anything about these incidents or saw anything, then they should contact the British Transport Police as a matter of urgency."

First Great Western refused to confirm or deny Mr Davis' claim that the CCTV system is not working.

"We would never discuss our security arrangements for obvious reasons," added the spokesman.

Anybody with information about the break-ins should contact British Transport Police on 0117 9348 995.