RESIDENTS in Osbaston are facing fresh concerns over another possible crimewave following a burglary last Friday (16th October) in Toynbee Close.

The property was broken into while the occupants were away, sparking recollections of a spate of burglaries last year, carried out under similar circumstances.

This most recent burglary follows on from a spate of five similar break-ins last month when properties in Wyesham, Dixton, Overmonnow and Osbaston were targeted by thieves while the owners were away, although these were not linked by police to the spree in Osbaston in 2014/ 2015.

In 2014, between June and November, 13 burglaries had occurred in Osbaston and led to meetings with police to answer concerns about the similarity and regularity of the crimes. Gwent Police had allocated CCTV surveillance, dedicated officers and other resources to the area but to no avail as no arrests were made.

The crime wave continued and eventually a staggering 26 properties had been burgled, with some houses being broken into twice.

In January 2015 alone, three houses, one on Toynbee Close and two on Wallis Close, were burgled and a man living on Wallis Close was struck on the arm by a baseball bat when he saw activity in his neighbour’s house. Knowing his neighbours were out he went outside to make further enquiries and also tried to take a photo of the parked car. A man got out of the car and was joined by a number of other men, from either inside the car or around the car, and the resident was then assaulted. It’s believed there may have been about five men with the car, they were described by the victim as white with Eastern European accents.

Of the most recent offence, County councillor for the Dixton and Osbaston ward, Bob Hayward, said: “It is very worrying that this has happened in Osbaston after it had quietened down. I would urge all residents to be vigilant and look-out for their neighbours, particularly the ones that are on holiday.”