Driver who prevented '˜carnage' on roads has her car broken in to

A driver is warning others to be vigilant after her handbag was stolen when she stopped to avoid horses on the road.
Hille Harris, of Epworth, had her car broken into when she stopped to warn other drivers about horses on the road. Picture: Marie Caley NEPB Harris MC 4Hille Harris, of Epworth, had her car broken into when she stopped to warn other drivers about horses on the road. Picture: Marie Caley NEPB Harris MC 4
Hille Harris, of Epworth, had her car broken into when she stopped to warn other drivers about horses on the road. Picture: Marie Caley NEPB Harris MC 4

Hille Harris, of Epworth, was driving on Wroot Road between Finningley and the junction to Doncaster on Sunday May 1 at 9.25pm when she saw the road ahead was blocked by around six horses.

She said: “It was getting dark and I only just saw them, it was quite a surprise. They were in the middle of the road, but they weren’t stressed. They were white with brown speckles.

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“I carefully drove around them and then pulled in and decided to go back and warn other drivers. I held out my hand to get their attention so they would stop.”

“I was only stood about 100 to 150 feet away from my car for no more than 20 minutes. I was shocked when I returned and realised my car had been broken in to. The front passenger window had been smashed and my handbag and tablet computer, which had been on the front seat, were gone.

“My car was locked while I flagged traffic down. It’s sad. This kind of action makes it more and more difficult to maintain belief in goodness.”

The handbag contained £250 in cash and all of Hille’s debit cards. She says the loss of these things is ‘annoying’, but what she is finding most difficult to deal with is the loss of treasured family photos.

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“I had photos of my mum and dad in my handbag. I don’t have copies of them and they can’t be replaced. The loss of these photos is huge. Thankfully, all the photos I had on my tablet were backed up so I haven’t lost them.”

Hille, aged 62, also fears she may have been the victim of a scam, as when she posted about the crime on social media people reported seeing horses running loose on other roads. She said she was also told by police that it was likely the horses had been used as a diversion.

The care giver, who works for Home Instead Senior Care, believes that the offender may have been looking for money, although the motive for the crime has not been confirmed by police.

Despite what happened, Hille says she would not hesitate to act in the same way again.

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“If I hadn’t have done that, it would have been carnage. One driver that I stopped said he hadn’t seen the horses at all and he could have gone in to them. I wanted to prevent damage to others and the horses. I would still do it again, I would just take my handbag with me next time.”

She is now waiting for her car window to be replaced.

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: “The incident occurred at around 9.25pm on Wroot Road in Finningley on Sunday May 1.

“The driver of a car reported she had to stop and get out of her vehicle due to a number of horses in the road.

“On returning to her car, a rear window had been smashed and a number of items from inside stolen.

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“Police are investigating and would ask anyone with information to please call 101 quoting incident number 1139 of 1 May 2016.”

They added that there was no evidence the incident was linked to a wider scam.