BETWEEN 9:30pm 13 May and 6:50am 14 May there was a forced entry into a premises in Nambucca Heads.

The intruder was not invited into the residence and entry was gained through a closed but unlocked side door.

It is likely this occurred while the family was sleeping.

One of the items stolen from the home was a credit card which was contained in a purse.

This credit card was used at a local tobacco shop where two transactions occurred.

These transactions were captured on CCTV.

Later on 14 May this man was apprehended on Mann Street, Nambucca Heads by police.

The man was picked up owing to an outstanding warrant.

When put into custody the card was discovered on his person.

He claimed to have found the card.

The man was taken to Kempsey Courts on multiple charges and refused bail.

According to police reports he is a South Grafton man who caught a train from Sydney and alighted at Nambucca Heads.

Acting Inspector Anthony Smith, Nambucca Valley, Mid North Coast Police District, said, “We don’t have someone living in our community, in this case, going out and breaking into our home.

“This fellow was a random.”

Kirsty Snow, resident at the premises, received a notification on her phone that a transaction had occurred on her card as soon as it was used.

Kirsty said she “immediately thought she’d left the card in the car”.

Her husband and Kirsty then discovered the missing wallets.

Kirsty explained that, “It felt like an invasion of privacy.

“It is scary to think you have kids sleeping in the house.

“It’s scary not knowing who that person is.

“It’s the ‘what if?’”

Both Acting Inspector Anthony Smith and Kirsty Snow would like people to be warned, from this incident, about the importance of locking their doors, even when they are at home.

 

By Rachel MCGREGOR-ALLEN