Thief tried to steal car while Pontypool owner washed screen (From South Wales Argus)

Thief tried to steal car while Pontypool owner washed screen

7:00am Wednesday 6th March 2013 in News

‘FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE’: Jeffrey Bermas, of Pontnewynydd, who chased a man who tried to steal his car

A THIEF tried to steal a car in Pontypool while the owner was washing its windscreen.

Jeffrey Bermas, 45, and his wife Cynthia, 42, of Groveside Villas, St Lukes Road, Pontnewynydd were left shocked after a man attempted to steal their car while it was being cleaned by Mr Bermas.

Mr Bermas was cleaning the passenger side of the windscreen of his Honda FRV, which was parked on the drive at the back of his house at around 5.25am on Sunday, March 3.

He had switched the engine and headlights on and all doors were closed as he was washing the outside of the windscreen, getting ready to head off to work.

He noticed a man walk past, then saw him return to the car, open the door on the driver’s side and get in.

Mr Bermas, who moved to Pontypool from Abergavenny last April, ran round to confront the man who was resisting the door being opened from the inside but Mr Bermas managed to force it open and punched the culprit in the face.

The man then got out of the vehicle, attempted to jump over the fence but ended up running around the side of Mrs Berma’s car and away from Mr Bermas.

Mrs Bermas was asleep inside the house along with their children aged 17, 14 and seven-years-old, while the incident took place.

Mrs Bermas said: "I was still in bed and thought my husband had already left for work, when I heard the landline ringing.

"I was going to ignore it as I couldn’t think who would be calling at that time of the morning and then heard my husband on the answer phone."

She added: "The man couldn’t start the car as the gear and brake are not in the normal position.

"The police were on the scene within five minutes. They used a sniffer dog to locate the man and caught him about 6.30am.

"It was a very frightening experience. I wouldn’t want anyone to be in that situation.

"I told my husband he should have let him go and take the car, as anything could have happened.

"My husband was OK during the day but in the evening the shock seemed to set in and he felt like he was going to have a fever.

"I would like to say a big thank you to the police, they were absolutely great."