Petrolhead pensioner Denis Riley angry as hot-hatch Astra stolen

Nov 21 2009 by Nick Lavigueur, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Petrolhead pensioner angry as hot-hatch stolen in Huddersfield Hanoi raid

AN 82-year-old fast car fan now has to drive something slower after he was targeted by thieves.

Denis Riley’s prized Vauxhall Astra VXR ‘hot hatch’ was stolen in a ‘Hanoi burglary’ after raiders smashed their way into his home and stole the keys.

Denis slept through the incident and woke to find his front door had been broken in.

The upset pensioner said the burglars must have been watching him as his £17,500 car was not stored at his Newsome home but at a garage lock-up nearby.

And he was further distressed that the bungling raiders had managed to crash the premium car into his garage despite having the keys.

Mr Riley said he thought the thieves may have put the car into first instead of reverse and smashed it into the concrete garage wall.

The heartless thieves also stole £30 from his sideboard and threw a matchstick model of the Taj Mahal stored in the vehicle that he had spent 12 months making, into a skip.

He said: “I was upset, you’re bound to be.

“People have no respect for anything these days – it’s a common thing.