Wheel bolts stolen from woman's car in Poole

Claire Deane was left stranded in the middle of the road with her ten and 15-year-old sons after finding her car had been tampered with.

Days before the incident Claire said she could hear “rumbling” in her car and booked it into a garage, thinking her brake pads needed replacing.

However, on Thursday, September 26, she was driving in Poole when she heard a loud bang and immediately stopped the car to find her front wheel 'bent'.

“I stopped in the middle of the road at the Asda traffic lights,” said Claire.

“I thought I had hit something at first.”

Claire was stuck at the junction for three hours, while she waited for a friend to help her move her vehicle, and said she was completely distressed.  

While waiting, two police officers were passing by and stopped to check on her.

They noticed one of Claire’s wheels was hanging off due to all the bolts being missing.

She added that she has had no recent repair work, or wheels replaced, on her car and that all four bolts had been removed.

“It scares me to think that someone has been touching it,” said Claire.

On the day of the incident Claire had also driven from Poole to Bournemouth, and back, for her son’s hospital appointment, unaware of the state of her vehicle.

She said: “It could be kids messing around but they’re hard to get off and I don’t know why someone would do that.”

(Image: Newsquest)

A friend fitted two bolts from her other wheels so Claire could drive her car home.

She was due to drive to London the following day for her niece’s birthday but was unable to due to the incident.

“Imagine what could have happened if this happened while I was doing 70mph on the motorway.”

Claire, who lives near Poole Quay, said she often has people walking past the car park opposite her flat and would not think it suspicious.

“You don’t expect someone to tamper with your car and people don’t check it.”

She is now trying to warn others to check their vehicles before driving.