Woman baffled after her front gate is nabbed in broad daylight

Rachel Shelley who lives in Hardy Road left her house at 10am on Sunday, April 24.

By the time she returned at 6pm, the garden gate in front of her house had been taken off its hinges and stolen.

Ms Shelley, who is 47, has only lived in the property for a year.

However the black metal gate was there when she moved in and she suspects the wear and tear suggested it had been in situ for many years prior.

She said: “It’s an old wrought iron gate.

A woman in NR1 was left puzzled when she returned from a day out to find that her garden gate had been stolen in broad daylight. (Image: Rachel shelley)

“It was sat on hinges and it was very heavy. Having said that, an adult could have lifted it off if they really wanted to.

“It never would have occurred to me that I needed to bolt it down.

"It’s a common enough gate. It's pretty but all the terraced houses in the area have them.”

Following the incident Rachel's neighbours checked their CCTV but to no avail.

Rachel said: “I know it is not the crime of the century, but it is frustrating.

“The gate was in use daily.”

The gate was used to keep the property safe from animals and people in the street when Rachel’s young niece comes for a visit.

She said: "I remember it was a busy weekend. There were lots of folk about and police had their eyes on the streets.

"Loads of people in my area were making their way to Carrow Road to visit the stadium. It's so strange that no one noticed."

Rachel believes there is a more distressing reason as to why someone has nabbed the garden furniture.

She explained: “I can only assume someone would steal a gate of this kind to resell it for scrap.

“The cost of living is out of control. I think people are getting desperate.”

She added: “Two lovely people from the area have since offered me a replacement gate.

“So at least now I have a new gate.”