Theft in Village - please read

 Last evening two men, strangers, came into the garden of one of our residents, they were walking and talking outside her home.  The elderly lady went out to see what they were doing and one of them, “a fat, flabby man in a suit”, talked to her about her hedges and wire fence, walking away from the open door.  In the meantime the “thin man”, unseen, slipped into her home and stole her handbag  (this was not known until later). They both then went away.   Our neighbour had seen a cream van at the bottom of her drive but could not see the number plate.  She called her next-door neighbour to let them know what had happened as it was “strange” (not aware that her handbag had been stolen at this stage).  Shirley Phillips of the Neighbourhood Watch was contacted shortly after.  
Regarding the passage below, If you have any information regarding seeing the two men or the van in Dunchideock yesterday or recently please email Shirley and she will pass it on to the police in regard to this incident via the police email contact. mailto: shirley_j_phillips@hotmail.com
The police have been informed.  Our dear neighbour was not physically injured but is shocked and distressed to say the least.

Shirley has sent the information below to villagers on a few occasions but it is important to know so here it is again:- 

When to Contact the Police
Always call 999 in an Emergency

Phone 999 immediately if offenders are nearby, if life is threatened, if people are injured, if there is a fire, if immediate action is required to save lives, stop injury or catch criminals.  You can ask for the police, coastguard, the ambulance service or the fire service.

If you find that you're in a similar situation as above please note that Shirley has had it confirmed previously by our local Police Community Support Officer, that you REALLY do need to call 999 (not 101), if something suspicious is going on even if you don't know an offence yet has taken place, and ask for the police, when it is happening, or immediately afterwards.  If you're able to, do get the vehicle number plate and details, and the direction of travel that the vehicle went in or was facing, so at least if a patrol car is close by it will at least have a chance of checking / obtaining details of the driver and what they were doing there.  

NHW don't need to be emailed or phoned until after the police have been contacted unless you need help contacting the police.  For a quicker response do call your nearest neighbour for support or to help you to phone the police if necessary.  

Non-Urgent  email or call 101 (there are long delays in getting a reply)
Contact by Email for non-urgent contact straight to our local police team,
https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk and enter your postcode in ‘Find a local policing team’ which is on the Home Page.  Click on ‘Contact policing team’ and complete the message form.
Or a direct link is:
https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/your-area/teams/Chudleigh-Exminster/Overview
Again, you’ll see the box ‘Contact policing team’ and complete the message form.Call 101 or Textphone 18001 101:  You can contact Devon and Cornwall Police by phoning 101 or Textphone (through an operator) 18001 101.  Calls from landlines and mobiles cost 15 pence per call, no matter what time of day you call or how long your call lasts.  This is a slow process - long waits for a reply - so do not use 101 in an emergency.  You will find other links on the website that you may be interested in. 

It would be very helpful if you could kindly copy this information about 'When to Contact the Police' to any of your neighbours who do not have email. 

If you wish to have a chat with NHW about any of this please let Shirley know. When emailing her please copy Pat Ousely, Deputy Coordinator, in on all messages.
Shirley Phillips
Dunchideock NHW Coordinator
email: shirley_j_phillips@hotmail.com
01392 833416
or if no answer please call:-
Pat Ouseley
Dunchideock NHW Deputy Coordinator
email: patandjohn2610@gmail.com
01392 832030