'Criminals operating freely' says car dealer

THE owner of an independent car dealership has spoken out after it was broken into twice in a week.

- By POPPY KENNEDY

Ali Usman resorted to sleeping in DealDrive Motors in the hope of deterring criminals after two break-ins caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Now he is calling for action to be taken as he sees other small businesses in the area have been targeted in a recent spate of burglaries.

The first incident at his South Bank Garage occurred just after midnight in the early hours of Sunday, August 3, where suspects broke in and caused an estimate £5,000 to £6,000 worth of damage.

The following weekend, the garage was targeted again in the early hours of August 10.

And Ali says he is not alone in this with an MOT station in South Bank, a shop in Eston and a nearby car wash all reporting break ins in recent weeks. Most recently, JD Sports in Cleveland Retail Park, was ram-raided, leaving a trail of destruction.