Appeal after incident in Woolton

We are appealing for information after an incident at a house in Woolton on Sunday night (20 December).

At about 7.30pm, it was reported offenders had forced entry to a house on Vale Road. The offenders are believed to have stolen a mobile phone and presents in a burglary police believe was targeted.

A short time later it was reported that the suspects had made off in a people carrier/van parked outside.

It is believed the vehicle – which had been stolen in Prescot on 26 October - was then driven erratically to Ribble Road, Woolton, and the van (pictured) was abandoned just over five minutes later. It is thought the suspects then made off on foot in the direction of Kings Drive.

The occupants of the house were thankfully physically unharmed, but left extremely shaken by the incident.

The van was a Mercedes Viano vehicle with the registration number KX14 MMO displayed and detectives are keen to hear from anyone who saw the van being driven and may have dashcam footage to contact police.

Detective Inspector Jennie Beck said: “This was clearly a terrifying ordeal for the homeowners. It would have been incredibly frightening to have the security of their home violated by the offenders. While thankfully no one was injured, property was stolen.

“We want to hear from anyone who might have witnessed any part of the incident, including the offenders arriving and leaving the scene on Vale Road, and making off on foot from Ribble Road.

“Did you spot a silver Mercedes van being driven erratically in the Woolton area between 7.30pm and 7.45pm on Sunday? Might you have captured dashcam or CCTV footage? If so, please get in touch and we’ll do the rest.”

Anyone who can help with our enquiries is asked to contact our social media desk on Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ quoting the reference number 20000772757.

Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information