Storm Babet: Mexborough thieves steal £30,000 from couple hit by flood

Phil Henderson said his camping and caravan site was a "quagmire" after Storm Babet

A couple say they lost their life savings when thieves stole more than £30,000 in cash which they had moved from their home when it was flooded during Storm Babet.

Phil and Dawn Henderson's bungalow in South Yorkshire has flooded three times before, so they moved the money, jewellery and clothes to a motorhome.

Mr Henderson believes thieves watched them move their belongings in the early hours of 20 October before striking.

Police are investigating.

Mr Henderson said he and his wife started moving valuables from their property at Ferryboat Farm Fisheries in Old Denaby, Mexborough, just before midnight on 19 October.

At the time the Met Office had issued a three-day warning of heavy rain and flooding.

As their home had suffered serious flood damage in 2007, 2019 and 2022, he said they moved as much as they could out of the building.

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Around 150 homes were flooded in the nearby village of Catcliffe

Mr Henderson said: "They'd been watching us for an hour and a quarter.

"We'd put all our belongings into that motorhome an hour before, which were two handbags and another bag full of gold, my wife's engagement ring, a diamond ring, her mum's gold, gold tags, St Christopher, all the gold we'd collected through all our lives.

"At 01:15 BST we left the motorhome to go back inside the house, at about 01:20 BST we went back and I could see the awning from underneath the double bed at the back of the motorhome was strewn across the floor.

"I said somebody's been in. Dawn said 'check the money', and I said it's gone."

This is the fourth time the bungalow has been flooded

Mr Henderson said he and his wife had planned to pay the cash into the bank, but she was fearful of walking through Doncaster town centre with so much money.

They had been saving to pay for a headstone for their son's grave, after he died last year aged 36.

Mr Henderson said: "I sold three motorhomes, two motorbikes, just trying to get the money for the headstone. I can cope with the flooding but I can't cope with this."

He added that the couple's bungalow was now "absolutely wrecked" and standing in "half an inch of brown slurry".

South Yorkshire Police said: "We were called to reports of a burglary on 20 October at 01:24.

"It was reported a large amount of cash and jewellery were stolen from a camper van.

"Officers have completed CCTV enquiries in the area and enquiries are ongoing."

Mr Henderson praised City of Doncaster Council, which he said was helping him rebuild the road to the site and repair his property.

The road into the site is now being rebuilt by the council