No clean getaway! British family catch cleaner stealing their property
- A couple from Stockton say their belongings were stolen during a stay in Spain
- Video footage appears to show a woman rummaging through bags in the room
Published: 09:15, 28 November 2023 | Updated: 11:49, 28 November 2023
A brazen cleaner was caught stashing valuables in her bra while cleaning a British family’s room at a four-star hotel in Benidorm – after they laid a crafty trap to catch her in the act.
Alastair and Sue Conner had forked out GBP5,500 for the all-inclusive package holiday, staying at the Magic Natura Resort in Benidorm with their 15-year-old son Jack in September.
But after packets of cigarettes and perfume bottles allegedly started disappearing, the family from Stockton, Durham, took swift action and installed secret cameras in their room to solve the mystery.
Determined to catch the thief in the act, the couple took photos of their belongings before heading out for the day, and Alastair hid his laptop on the dressing table, set to record.
The parents-of-three could not believe their eyes when the footage appeared to capture their cleaner rummaging through their belongings and apparently pocketing perfume and cigarettes while cleaning their room the following day.
Alastair and Sue Conner, from Stockton, travelled with their 15-year-old son to Benidorm, Spain, and were shocked to find their personal belongings allegedly disappearing
A woman believed to be the cleaner was seen appearing to go through the couple’s bags
‘We bought 400 fags on the plane and all the fags had gone within a week.
I thought something isn’t right,’ said Sue Conner
Video footage appears to show a woman dressed in white overalls entering the room and making a beeline for a stack of bags in the corner.
She then moves to check around the bed area before the video cuts.
The woman is then seen looking through a white shopping bag in the room, before removing what appears to be a packet of cigarettes and putting it in her pocket.
Later, the woman is seen coming out of another room and appearing to put something down her shirt.
The couple believe around EUR750 worth of items were taken from their hotel room – including EUR385 worth of cash, EUR100 worth of perfume and 260 cigarettes.
Sue, a 53-year-old finance director, said: ‘I noticed when we’d come back to the room stuff was missing, my bags had moved and I thought someone’s been in my knicker drawer.
‘So we decided to set some cameras up but the batteries weren’t lasting. We thought something’s definitely going on.
‘We ended up taking photographs when we went out to show what the room was like and when we came back we noticed my bags had been moved. This was going on from practically day one.
Things weren’t in their place.
‘I’d just bought a new bottle of Gucci perfume from the airport and that was gone.
‘We bought 400 fags on the plane and all the fags had gone within a week. I thought something isn’t right.
‘And our son Jack said his clothes had been moved in the wardrobe. He had a necklace with a gold pendant with a ring on it and that was gone.
Money, cigarettes, perfume – it was all gone.’
After setting up a covert recording system to uncover whatever was going on, the couple returned from lunch to view the footage.
And the horrified pair, who booked their holiday through Jet2, could not believe their eyes as they watched a staff member appear to search through their luggage for valuable items before putting some items in her pocket.
Alastair, 47, said: ‘It wasn’t until coming on until the end of the holiday that I thought I’d set my laptop up.
‘The first day we didn’t get anything because it was a different cleaner then two days before we were due to leave, we went out to lunch, came back and I checked my laptop and we’d caught her.
‘We never expected a staff member to rob us. I went from excitement to disbelief.
‘I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was disgusted.’
Sue added: ‘I was mortified.
She’s gone through our private drawers. We felt violated.’
Alastair said: ‘We’ve just spent GBP5,500 on a holiday that we didn’t even enjoy.’
In later footage, she appeared to put something down her top.
The family say EUR100 worth of perfume disappeared
Alastair (L) had the idea of setting up his laptop to record the room to catch the thief in the act
Jet2 said: ‘We are extremely sorry and disappointed to hear about this experience, and we understand that the hotel has taken appropriate action with the staff member in question.
‘We have since been in contact with Mr and Mrs Conner to apologise, and to provide an appropriate gesture of goodwill.’
Jet2 offered the couple ‘an appropriate gesture of goodwill’ – but the couple say they were only offered the EUR750 that was reportedly stolen and they won’t accept anything less than a full refund.
Magic Natura and the Spanish police have been approached for comment.
References
- ^ James Reynolds (www.dailymail.co.uk)