Burglars steal car from Wolverhampton home of grieving family

As family members comforted each other following the death of 82-year-old Ralph Houghton, the thieves let themselves into the porch, took the keys to a Renault Scenic and escaped in the car.

The car belonged to Mr Houghton's son-in-law, Stuart May, aged 47, of Milton Road, Fallings Park, Wolverhampton.

Mr May said the family had gathered at his home just a few hours after Ralph died on February 25 to share their memories and grieve in peace.

"We were all still in a state of shock, trying to calm ourselves down and accept Ralph had died," he said.

"He had family all over the Midlands and they had all come down when they heard what had happened.

"We went back to my house to have a drink, eat some food and just be in each others' company at such a difficult time."

As the family discussed their memories of Mr Houghton, who had eight children and worked as a lorry driver for most of his life, the thieves let themselves into Mr May's porch and stole a set of keys.

The set contained not only car keys, but his front and back door key, as well as the keys to his mother and father's house, meaning the locks to each have had to be changed.

Mr May said: "The inconvenience this has and will continue to cause my family is huge.

"My wife is disabled, my mother is disabled and my dad is having trouble walking at the moment.

"I want to know who did this because they have put me in a horrible situation at such a testing time."

West Midlands Police spokeswoman Sarah Buxton said: "Police are investigating after a beige Renault Scenic was stolen in a burglary at around 12.45pm on February 25.

"The car was stolen after the keys were taken from the porch of a house on Milton Road, Fallings Park, which had been left unlocked.

"House-to-house inquiries have been carried out in the area and officers are trying to establish if there may be any CCTV which captured the offence.

"The vehicle's details have also been circulated on the police national computer as being stolen.

"Local residents who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area at the time of the burglary are urged to call the police."

The cause of Mr Houghton's death has still not been officially confirmed but Mr May said that he had suffered a black out hours before, which had starved his brain of oxygen for nearly a minute.

However, Mr May also said that his father -n-law had no ongoing health issues leading up to the day of his passing.

He said: "It was just such a shock.

"He was full of life, always the first down the post office every week to get his pension, like clock work.

"We will all miss him and its hard to believe somebody so important to you can just be taken away one day."

Anyone with information about the crime can call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.