Heartless thieves smashed their way into a disabled mum's car at a Birmingham beauty spot.

The break in at Sutton Park caused hundreds-of-pounds worth of damage to dog-walker Nicola Voice's car and her handbag, which had been hidden, stolen.

She had parked at the Boldmere Gate car park just past the cattle grid at around midday on Monday (April 26) to walk her friend Damian Coffey’s Dogue de Bordeaux dog, Lola.

When Nicola returned to her grey Fiat Punto at the Sutton Coldfield park she found a thief or thieves had tried to jemmy open the car door lock. When that failed, they smashed a window to get in.

The 47-year-old had hidden her handbag, which had cards, including a driving licence, in it but no cash, under the driver’s seat. It also had arthritis medication inside it.

The thief had managed to find it and stole it leaving a sat nav and other items including CDs in the car.

Nicola, from Tamworth, who is disabled and walks with crutches, fears she was being watched and now does not want to return to that part of the park again.

She said: “I was distraught. I couldn’t open the door. I just went in to panic mode.

“I took my friend’s dog out about 11am. By the time I had got back to the car, it took me an hour, it was 12pm.

“I was looking at the car and thought that looks really clear. I thought something is not right here. And when I walked up to the car I saw the window had been broken.

“They had tried to stick a screwdriver down the side of the handle.

“Because they couldn’t get in, they smashed the window.

“I had hidden my handbag under my front side. They have grabbed the bag and run.

“I think they may have broken in as they may have seen me leave the car without a handbag. If they did they could see I was vulnerable but they just took an opportunity to invade my space.

“The fact somebody has been in my personal space has upset me.”

A thief had first used a screwdriver to try and break in to the Fiat Punto at the Sutton Coldfield park before then smashing a window
A thief had first used a screwdriver to try and break in to the Fiat Punto at the Sutton Coldfield park before then smashing a window

Nicola, who lives in Kettlebrook, said she has only been out in last month after isolating for the first year of Covid.

She said: “I was more bothered about the dog as there was smashed glass on the ground.

“I am a single mum with two children and I am disabled.

“I can’t do without a car. I have only had that one five weeks and bought it on finance.

“It’s heartbreaking. I haven’t got the £495 the insurance company want to fix the window.

“I had to go to hospital in the afternoon for an emergency procedure and while I was there I was trying to get in contact with the police.

“I reported it to the police via live chat but the police were hard to get hold of. It’s such a shame because the park is lovely.”

Nicola said she had parked at Boldmere Gate ‘a number of times’ but will not go back there. She takes the dog for a walk to Wyndley to play in the stream.

“I have taken the dog for a walk to help Damian out. It helps me and helps the dog too.

“It’s always been a nice park. We have parked there before and nothing has happened. I won’t go there again. I won’t put myself or my car at risk.

“After I saw the damage, I felt vulnerable, even with a dog with me.”

“To have that on top of everything else with the hospital appointment, I could have sat and cried.”

The car break-in is the latest in a series of troubling incidents in the park in the past couple of months, including a pool being drained, a cyclist attacked, a knifepoint robbery, a pregnant woman being followed, a ‘stabbing’ 999 call and a series of fires.

Anyone with any information on the car break-in is urged to call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.