A FAMILY who complained to The Advertiser that police failed to properly investigate a break-in at a vulnerable relative’s farmyard have been broken into again.

Officers are now making inquiries after The Hammond family’s farm was targeted for the second time in just over a month but, the family say, arrests have not been forthcoming following a delay in reviewing CCTV footage from the first incident.

As reported by The Advertiser, the door of a rare Renault Clio Williams 16-valve belonging to Paul Hammond’s son Danny was forced and two car seats stolen during the original raid at the farm near Hurstbourne Tarrant on 2 November.

The glove box of a Vauxhall Nova was also smashed and there was an attempt to take the car’s radio and seats.

Despite CCTV capturing four intruders entering the yard and making off with the car seats they say it took officers nearly a month to collect the footage by post, even after offering to take it into the most appropriate police station.

During the first week of December, intruders entered the yard again and this time smashed the door to the house and damaged two CCTV cameras.

The family say they have now been informed that CID are investigating the latest break-in as the house was targeted, that officers believe it is linked to the first incident and that some of the perpetrators have been identified.

However, no arrests have been made as the matter has been awaiting handover from the resolutions team in Southampton who were reviewing the CCTV footage.

A formal complaint has now been made by the family about the delay in investigating the first incident and that an elderly man is being left vulnerable in his home because of the lack of police response.

Paul said: “I am disappointed by the fact that these people have been allowed to go unpunished to do the same thing to other people and come back and do the same thing to us.

“It makes you want to cry that a vulnerable man has been left even more vulnerable because of the justice system and it’s especially frustrating when we have found the evidence for them.”

The 39-year-old added: “The reason the police say it took so long to get a response to the first incident was because it was low risk but this has been happening to my father every summer for the last few years.

“It is ironic that the police criticised us for our lack of security but now that we do have CCTV cameras it took them over a month to review the footage.”

The family took the decision to install a security system after the farm suffered numerous break-ins over the last five years and none of the offenders have been caught.

Police released a media appeal last summer after intruders attempting to enter the house were caught on camera.

Hampshire Police has been contacted for comment but at the time of going to press a response had not been received.