AN ELDERLY couple have been left without their “lifeline’’ after a series of car crimes while streetlights were out.

Thieves broke into four vehicles in the Lee Chapel area in Basildon during their crime spree, and drove off in Peter and Patricia Groves' beloved, 14-year-old red Rover Maestro.

Three residents in Rantree Fold and one in Sporhams woke up on Wednesday to discover vandals had smashed up their vehicles.

It is thought raiders targeted the area between 4am and 6am, with residents blaming the spate of break-ins on the lack of streetlights.

Mr Groves, 76, of nearby Fletchers, was putting his bins out when he noticed his garage door open and his car missing.

Wife Patricia, 75, said: “We didn’t hear anything, and you always assume you will.

“The car is old, butwe like it, and it is a bit of a lifeline. It gets us out and about. I can visit my daughter and go to the shops.’’ Debbie Dixon, of Rantree Fold, walked out of her house to take her nine- year-old daughter to school when she realised her Ford Focus had been targeted.

She said: “My daughter is terrified they are going to come back and break into the house. I can’t even begin to imagine how you would cope if that happened.

“We’ve all just got normal family cars, and these people caused all this trouble for a bit of spare change we had left lying around.

“I remember hearing a car outside my house, but I didn’t think anything about it at the time. I just assumed it was someone working nights.

“It’s normally a very safe area to live in, but now we have no streetlights, there isn’t anything to deter criminals.’’ Many streets are in darkness between midnight and 5am after Essex County Council decided to turn off streetlights in a bid to save cash.

Last month the Echo revealed extra officers were being drafted in afetr a spate of house burglaries in Lee Chapel.

Anyone with information is urged to call officers at Basildon police station on 101.

Probe to see if crimes are linked

POLICE said there was a spate of thefts overnight.

A spokesman said: “We are investigating reports of thefts and attempted thefts from vehicles in Basildon overnight Tuesday-Wednesday morning.

“Thieves broke into three cars in Rantree Fold, a Renault Megane, a Ford C-Max and a Ford Focus, and a Citroen Picasso in Sporhams.

“A sat nav, a purse containing money and two pairs of sunglasses were taken from the car in Sporhams. Money and a pair of prescription glasses were taken from one of the cars in Rantree Fold.

Nothing was stolen from the other two cars.

“Officers are also investigating a report of a red Rover Maestro stolen from a garage in Fletchers between 4am and 6am yesterday.

“It is too early at this stage to officially link these crimes, but the roads are all close by and that will be a main line of enquiry.”

Anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious, or who has any information, is urged to contact Basildon police station on 101.