A VICTIM of theft has lodged a complaint against Thames Valley Police over officers' ‘ineptitude’ and ‘unwillingness to investigate’.

Thieves descended on Westlands Avenue, in Weston-on-the-Green, in the early hours of Wednesday, January 17, and made off with a caravan belonging to David Holley.

He expected a visit from the police and a reasonable level of investigation, but was left disappointed and angered by the force’s 'sluggish and limited' response.

Mr Holley, 57, awoke that Wednesday morning to find the caravan he had parked on his neighbours’ property was gone.

It transpired that, at about 2.30am, thieves arrived in the street and towed the caravan away after dismantling the locks securing the vehicle.

Mr Holley, who had owned the caravan for less than a year, contacted police, but movement to resolve the incident seemed slow.

Outlining his frustrations in a letter of complaint sent on Friday, Mr Holley said: “There has been no contact from the police since reporting the incident.

“I made four calls on the Wednesday. Initially I was asked to bag the wheel lock for forensic purposes, only to be told later in the day that this was not required.

“ I made a total of four calls, one of which was to advise of CCTV available narrowing the time period when the van was stolen.

“I made further contact on the Friday and made a formal complaint based on two main issues.”

The first issue Mr Holley refers to relates the age and vulnerability of his neighbours, on whose property the caravan was parked.

Due to their distress following the incident, Mr Holley was keen for officers to come out and provide some reassurance.

They eventually did so, but only on the Monday after the theft – six days later – and after being repeatedly called by Mr Holley.

He said: “I would have expected a police visit to be made to these vulnerable individuals as a matter of course.”

After an initial complaint by telephone, Mr Holley was told that officers should have done a better job in ‘managing his expectations’.

He then made the formal, written complaint, which concludes: “This incident has caused us a great deal of stress and I feel violated.

“Whilst insured I will be significantly out of pocket and any outside chance of recovery has been lost due to your unwillingness to investigate and I would say ineptitude.”

It is not just the elderly neighbours of Mr Holley, who lives with his fiancée Pamela Glanville, who have been left unsettled by the theft.

Mr Holley said: “It’s unsettled quite a number of the elderly residents around here.

“This kind of thing doesn’t generally happen around here.”

Spokesman for Thames Valley Police, James Williams, said it would be inappropriate for the force to comment on the matter while the complaint was still being investigated.