A mum-to-be's car was ransacked in Cardiff and the thief stole hundreds of pounds in cash and gift vouchers from her baby shower.
Photographer Katrina Dimech from Penarth was paying a quick visit to her sister, who lives in Splott, on Tuesday, February 8, when the incident occurred.
The 33-year-old, who is nine months pregnant, parked her car in Sanquhar Street at around 12pm.
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Within 10 minutes, while having a "quick chat" with her sister in the hallway, she received a text from a neighbour to say her car had been broken into.
The two windows on the driver's side had been smashed with a stone and the perpetrator had made off with her wallet containing £200 she had been gifted for her baby, which she had hidden in the central glove box.
A bag containing a medical training baby doll worth about £500, which she uses for newborn photography, was also taken. The doll was later discovered dumped down the road and was damaged from being run over.
A witness who was walking past at the time and had spoken to the neighbour said the thief was a white male, around 17-year-old old, riding a red bike and wearing a black balaclava with a blue trim and black gloves.
It comes after number of similar incidents in Cathays and Roath recently, police said.
Katrina, who is "really deflated and upset" by the incident, said she was annoyed by the "inconvenience of it all".
"Annoyingly I'm on maternity leave now so I'm not working. It couldn't have come at a worse time," she said.
"I'm having to pay now to have the windows replaced. I'm going be out of pocket by about £300."
She added: "Hopefully they've taken the cash from the wallet and thrown it away. But I've had to pay £20 to have my driving licence sent back. I've had to cancel my card."
She said she does not "feel safe" knowing that the thief now has personal details about her.
"[The wallet] has got all my personal information in there – it's got my addresses, it's got information on my business premises. I'm just like: 'Oh my God' – the realisation now that somebody has got that wallet and knows exactly who I am," she said.
"They know exactly where my photography studio is now. Are they going to target that next? You just don't know."
She said that after her sister shared the news of the theft on social media she had received lots of messages from residents in Splott and Adamsdown area saying their vehicles had also been recently broken into.
"It's obviously happening quite a lot in that area," said Katrina.
She said her brother had suggested she removed the sign on her car that advertises her photography business to discourage thieves but she insists that such measures wouldn't be "fair".
"I've had them on my car for six years and this is the first time it's happened," she said.
"I get work at the end of the day from people seeing that advertisement on my car so I'm not going to take them off. That's ridiculous."
She added: "I just think you really, really do have to just make sure that there's nothing at all in your car. It's a sad world we live in."
A spokesman for South Wales Police said: "Officers attended Sanquhar Street, Splott, on Tuesday lunchtime following a theft from a blue seven-seater Mazda.
"A Ralph Lauren purse containing £200 was stolen from the car’s centre console along with a training baby doll. A stone had been used to smash the windows.
"The suspect is described as white, male, around 17 years old, wearing a black balaclava and black gloves and was riding a red bike.
"Officers carried out inquiries in the area but unfortunately the theft was not captured on CCTV and there are no forensic lines of inquiry.
"We understand that being a victim of car crime is upsetting, costly, and an inconvenience.
"There have been a number of similar incidents in Roath and Cathays recently and officers are focusing their attention on this issue with regular patrols both in uniform and plain clothes.
"It takes just seconds to smash a window, steal something, and leave the area. Please remember to remove all items, particularly those of value, and lock doors as unfortunately there are individuals who will take advantage."
Anyone with information can call police on 101, email SWP101@south-wales.police.uk, submit details here, or send a Facebook or Twitter message quoting reference number 2200044545.
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