EDITOR'S CHOICE JOIN THE DEBATE Council getting mean and green Council snoops on your rubbish Call for parking ban on Leigh's Marine Estate Bus-users hit in the pocket by ticket axe NEWS Air traffic control warned after motorbike crash Our anger at dumped earth on dad’s grave Student’s tasty way to transform the pier Robot Titan and knights wow the crowds SOUTHEND UNITED Nick can’t wait for Fulham Duo set for Fulham test ECHO WOMAN How Wioletta earned a fresh start in life I support Fern Britton’s slimming decision New challenge to your cellulite Mums tackle the credit crunch HEALTH Councillor's concerns over surgery move from Southend GET OUR NEWS BY E-MAIL Just register

Most read Comments 1 Anger over 22-hours-a-day clubbing 2 Have your say on future of town before it’s too late 3 Zach wraps up his blog from Dale Farm 4 Three charged over festival fraud 5 £12m plan to ease Canvey gridlock 6 Residents may be left in blight trap for years 7 Please say no to saucy Hooters bar 8 Winners galore in busy April at Thorpe Hall 9 Cyclist taken to hospital 10 UPDATED: Pedestrian dies on A127 Today | 7 Days 1 Updated: Woman dies in crash

Comment

A THIEF was chased by three musicians after stealing a horn players' handbag from a church.

Helen Crate, 30, who plays horn with Southend Band, had her black canvas bag stolen from the foyer of Thorpe Bay Methodist Church an hour before she was due to play in a concert.

Three band members chased the thief as he leapt over garden fences to get away. Because Helen's uniform was locked in her car, she had to play in the concert in the clothes she was wearing.

Ms Crate, 30, of Marguerite Drive, Leigh, said: "If you leave your bag in a nightclub or the High Street, you kind of expect this sort of thing.

"You just don't expect someone to steal from a church in broad daylight.

"Luckily, my friend had a spare horn and I had to play in my normal clothes, looking very silly.

"It was also lucky I have a spare key for the car, so I had everything by Sunday for the opening of the bandstand in Priory Park."

Ms Crate said she spotted a man lurking near the church foyer. She had put her bag on a table, but did not realise it had been moved into the foyer.

When she went to check what the man wanted, she saw him walking along Thorpe Bay Broadway, with her bag over his shoulder and shouted for help.

Inside was £140, a digital camera and the car keys, worth a total of £500.

Ms Crate had to cancel her bank cards and change her locks.

She said: "It's a nightmare. My car has central locking and we were worried the thief might come back, press the button and steal my car too. So everyone parked their cars around mine, blocking me in.

"Stuff like my diary is irreplaceable. I know I'm never going to get it back."

The thief was white, slim in his early twenties, 5ft 11ins tall, with short black hair. He was wearing a white and black check shirt and dark blue jeans.

Anyone with information about the theft, at 6.05pm on Saturday, should call police at Shoebury on 0300 333 4444.

8:57am Wednesday 23rd July 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login