Bouncy castles stolen from Ridge and Furrow pub in Abbeydale
BOUNCY castles worth £3,000 have been stolen from the garden of an Abbeydale pub.
Staff at the Ridge and Furrow, in Glevum Way, were left scratching their heads when they arrived for work this week to find the castles had been swiped.
Police have called on members of the public to come forward with information, saying it would have taken at least four people to lift the 20 feet long inflatables.
Landlord Steve Luckett was incredulous that the thieves had managed to get away unnoticed with such large items.
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"I couldn't believe it," he said.
"You certainly wouldn't expect people to get away with stealing bouncy castles that big.
"They weren't pumped up at the time because of all the wet weather we have had. But even so, it would have taken four or five people to lift them up.
"It is frustrating. We have had bouncy castles here for the last three years and these ones had been up since March.
"It's one of the pub's big attractions and the kids love it. Unfortunately now we won't be able to have them unless we get them back."
One of the bouncy castles, which was red and yellow, was worth £1,800. The other one, a blue and yellow inflatable designed for smaller children, was valued at £1,200. A third inflatable, which was emblazoned with the pub's phone number, was left behind.
Steve said he was hoping the pub's insurance would cover the cost of the play equipment but admitted the pub would be unable to foot the bill if not.
It is thought the thieves broke in through the garden, before hauling the castles over the fence.
Police said the inflatable play equipment had been stolen between midnight on Monday and 7am on Tuesday morning.
A spokesman for the force said: "It is likely those responsible would have needed a van to transport the bouncy castles so we would ask anyone who saw anything suspicious to contact us."
Call 101 quoting incident 191 of September 4.
Comments
by FreeRadical1
Saturday, September 15 2012, 3:17PM
“A forum has been started that suggests that the bouncy castles have magically returned. Can anyone shed light on this?”
by Walker100
Thursday, September 06 2012, 10:50PM
“"It is likely those responsible would have needed a van to transport the bouncy castles"
You see, and that's why THEY are the police and we are not. I never would have thought they might have needed a van to transport them.”
by thomas1996
Thursday, September 06 2012, 5:55PM
“How is it THAT pub always seems to be in the news? First it was car washing in the car park, then a kebab van operating from the car park, then a dispute with the GP surgery next door over parking and now it's bouncy castle thefts.
The sooner it's aquired for the much needed expansion to services offered by the surgery or even turned into a Morrisons petrol station the better!”
by the_mogul
Thursday, September 06 2012, 1:51PM
“Abbeydale is like the new Coney Hill, Kingsmead or Cheltenham.”
by Pebbles23
Thursday, September 06 2012, 12:58PM
“Seems like you expect the police to be everywhere"
ANYWHERE would be a start.”
by sensible_sid
Thursday, September 06 2012, 12:34PM
“We very rarely see any Police presence around Abbeymead apart from a tiny PCSO who patrols once every 3 months .. The only people who get caught are those heinous vicious criminals who dare to drive 6 mph over the limit and hey presto .. police appear... but for REAL crime like the appalling attack on the man in Heron Way and now this , we are being shortchanged and the police are conspicuous by their absence.
I'd suggest to the pub landlord that he should install CCTV but that would probably get stolen in this era of 'laissez faire' policing..
Just what policing do we get out of our Council Tax?”
by Matt1006
Thursday, September 06 2012, 11:45AM
“Whizzo - so you think there should have been a police patrol in this location, throughout the 7 hour window in which the crime was committed, to catch them in the act? In reality it possibly took no more than 10 minutes to complete, within the 7 hours noted. Maybe the crims waited until the local patrol (if there is one) had passed by, and then carried out their raid...???
Seems like you expect the police to be everywhere, all of the time, ready to pounce as & when a crime is committed. Or have I misunderstood your comment?”
by Chrisgump2011
Thursday, September 06 2012, 11:41AM
“Don't you just hate opportunistic crime. Bet someone went to the front door of the pub and kept the landlord's attention diverted, whilst a small army went out back and lugged the bouncy castles down a narrow footpath to a waiting flat bed truck with a pre-arranged wide load escort. Then they made slow their getaway. Silly season or what?”
by Whizzo
Thursday, September 06 2012, 10:14AM
“'Police said the inflatable play equipment had been stolen between midnight on Monday and 7am on Tuesday morning' ??
7 or so hours for 4 men, a big white van, by a prominent pub, in a well lit area??
Where were the police foot/car patrols then??
It does seem that the crime reports you read in the Citizen are getting greater for the Abbeydale/Abbeymead area so, would it not be a good idea for the police to become a little more visible for a while here and deter crime or even by off chance spot it in progress??”
by LordGagas
Thursday, September 06 2012, 9:12AM
“this is getting like the xfiles, huge bouncy castles dissapearing, gangs of twenty men roaming the area beating people up, and no one see's any thing”