Scottish mother says thieves stole her children’s laptops before locking the front door behind them

A mother of three has claimed thieves walked into her flat and stole her children’s laptops, phones and a tablet before locking the door behind them.

Kerry-Ann Quinn said they took the home-schooling gadgets from Leo, 10, Kelvin, seven, and six-year-old Finlay.

The 35-year-old said she was in the shower when the crooks got into the building in Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland.

She claimed one was a middle-aged man while the other – who may have been a woman – started to take the equipment from her living room.

Kerry-Ann Quinn said they stole the home-schooling gadgets from Leo, 10, Kelvin, seven, and six-year-old Finlay

She told the Ayrshire Post: ‘I was just in my room getting ready when I heard a mobile phone ringing which was like an old Nokia tune.

‘I left my room to head to the living room and there were two people walking out the living room door. I met them face on as I walked out of my room.

‘One was definitely a guy because I could see his face, he was short and stout and in his 50s and wore a black bomber jacket and dark trousers and a beanie hat.

‘He had a flattened nose like a boxer’s. The other one was tall and slim – it might not have been a guy.

‘The zip of their jacket was right up over their face and they also had a black jacket zipped up and a beanie.

‘They brushed past me and headed for the door. They never spoke to each other, it was so strange, as if I was invisible to them, I didn’t even feel real.’

Ms Quinn said she swung at them with a baseball bat and caught one of the thieves before they escaped.

The 35-year-old said she was in the shower when the crooks got into the flat in Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland

She claimed they then managed to get away and somehow locked the door behind them.

She added two days later the laptop was left outside her house on top of their bins – but had been ruined by the rain.

Ms Quinn continued: ‘I ran into the living room in a panic to check things – my keys were sitting on the sofa.

‘They had a key, so they came in using that, as I lock my door every night. The police found it really strange as well, it’s a new door that I’ve got. It doesn’t make sense.’

She added: ‘My kids were so upset, it is rubbish. They have had their bikes stolen before at our previous flat.

‘This was supposed to be a fresh start for us, but it is like throwing the frying pan into the fire.’

Ms Quinn said it was the latest incident where people were able to enter her flat complex as she and her neighbours called for a secure door.

She said she has had to regularly deal with drug users at the bottom of the stairs in and one neighbour revealed her TV was stolen just before Christmas.

Ms Quinn added: ‘We are getting nowhere, we are a cut-through for everybody. We are always on to the housing to get the problem fixed.

‘I have to walk by people all the time, smoking joints or pipes. If we hadn’t been in, would I have come back to anything at all?

‘It is going to take something serious to happen, before a change is made.’

A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘We received a report shortly after 7am on 25 January in relation to a break-in at a property on Kirkland Street in Maybole.

‘Electronic devices were stolen during the incident. Police enquiries are ongoing.’

A council spokesman added: ‘The safety and wellbeing of our tenants is always a priority.

‘A repair was carried out to the door late last year and another repair is due to take place shortly. The door is scheduled to be replaced this year.’