Cruel car ‘cannibals’ stripped my car leaving my son’s seat covered in glass

A MUM has been left devastated after thugs tore apart her car leaving her son’s child seat covered in shattered glass.

Bethan Maiden, 25, from Teesside, says she feels “shaken” after discovering her car with the bonnet and bumper completely ripped off.

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The primary school teacher had visited Myton House Farm pub in Ingleby Barwick, Stockton-on-Tees on Saturday, March 25, leaving her Vauxhall Corsa overnight.

When she returned to the pub on Sunday morning to collect the car, she was greeted by what she describes as a “nightmare”, as thieves had ransacked her motor.

The front bumper and bonnet had been ripped from the vehicle and the passenger window had been shattered, scattering glass throughout, including on her two young son’s car seats.

Bethan called the police immediately and officers are now investigating.

Speaking to Teesside Live she said: “It’s a nightmare, I’ve got two children.

“We’ve got to get them to school, my partner’s got to get to work and I’ve got to get to work, it’s like a taxi.

“It’s just horrible, you feel like you work hard for something.

“It’s a Corsa, I know, but it’s my first ever car and you save all your pennies for that and for someone to just strip it away like that, they have no concept of what it does to people’s lives.”

Bethan said she feels “shaken” and “frustrated” by the incident and shared photos of her car on Facebook.

She said: “I posted it [on Facebook] and everyone is saying it’s the Corsa Cannibals again, so I get the impression that it’s a crew that do it.”

The so-called “Corsa Cannibals” are thought to be responsible for a string of similar incidents around seven years ago, when a number of Vauxhall Corsa’s were targeted in the Teesside area.

The group would strip parts from the car including their bumpers and bonnets.

A spokesperson for Cleveland Police said: “Police received a call on Sunday lunchtime from the owner of a black Vauxhall Corsa which had had its front end bodywork stolen while it had been parked up at an Ingleby Barwick pub car park.

“Scene of Crime Officers were tasked to attend and the caller was advised to contact her insurance provider.

“We are to schedule a further call to the victim as enquiries continue.

“If anyone has information/dashcam, doorbell, or CCTV footage which could assist police, please contact us on 101 quoting ref 056734.

“If you don’t want to speak to police, you can pass information anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org or by phoning 0800 555 111.”

It is not only Teessiders who have fallen victim to ‘car cannibals’.

Rebecca Scotland, 27, was left shocked after attending a gig at the O2 Academy in Birmingham and returning to find her Citroen C1 had also been ransacked by thieves.

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