Public encouraged to report drivers wearing balaclavas

Police are urging the public to report any people they see driving in balaclavas or masks.

It follows two burglaries over the weekend in which offenders were seen in cars with their faces covered around the time of the incidents.

Officers are encouraging members of the public to call if they witness either anti-social driving or people acting suspiciously in masks as soon as possible.

In the first incident, which took place at around 5.45pm on Saturday 13 July, two masked men used a golf club to break in through a back door of a property in Woodmancote Vale.

It is not known if anything was taken. The offenders made off from the address in a blue BMW Z4, which had been seen driving dangerously earlier in the day.

The second incident, which is not being linked, took place at a property in Tredington between 9.30am and 6.45pm on the same day (13 July).

Offenders forced entry through a back door and stole a number of bank cards.

Inspector Grant White, from Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “As we approach the holiday season, with people leaving their homes empty for long periods of time, we are reliant on neighbours being our eyes and ears.

“We would urge anyone who sees either people acting suspiciously in the area or anti-social driving to report it to us as soon as possible.

“Officers can use this information to proactively police areas which we know are being targeted and to respond quicker to incidents as they are happening.”

Anyone with information about either break-in is asked to contact Gloucestershire Constabulary, quoting 337 of 13 July for the Woodmancote Vale burglary or 373 of 13 July for the Tredington incident.