A student house in Cathays had the door smashed and was broken into whilst the tenants were away for summer

A student house in Cathays has been broken into whilst the tenants were all at home during the summer break. They only found out about the burglary as one of the tenants had come back for a night to check on the house.

It is unclear at what point the actual burglary had occurred, however, the incident has been reported to the South Wales Police.

When the tenant arrived at the property, she discovered that the lock on the back door was damaged and the windows had been smashed. All six tenants left their room doors locked for the summer but all the rooms were found unlocked. Some of the rooms were clearly broken into with signs of the door being kicked open – such as damaged locks and broken door frames.

All six tenants had been careful and made sure they locked their bedroom doors before leaving, but all the rooms were found unlocked and were clearly broken into, with damaged locks and broken door frames indicating this.

The broken door has been moved to the back garden as it was deemed a safety hazard

One of the tenants Dan Bakewell, who’s an USW 2nd year, told The Tab Cardiff that “we got lucky that no one got hurt.”

Dan went on to say that there was “a helpless feeling” as, “we were all miles away, not being able to get to the house to see everything for ourselves. We still don’t feel fully comfortable about having to keep our belongings there.”

The students are unsure whether the agency had potentially come to check on the house during their time away from the property and had accidentally left some rooms unlocked, or if the locks on those rooms were weaker and therefore, easier to pick.

All of the rooms had been tampered with but luckily the only item missing from the house is a TV from one of the students’ rooms, as most of the tenants had taken their valuables home with them.

The property, located near the SU on Llandough Street is managed by the letting agency, 2let2. A spokesperson from 2let2 commented on the incident:

“We can assure you that we take security very seriously and within moments of the incident being reported we sent a contractor to the property with the tenant.

“The tenants would be the only people accessing the property before the incident as no work was scheduled or reason for entry required.”

The letting agency and landlord have been working closely with the tenants to make repairs where necessary. However, the students have been told by the police that there is little that can be done, as there are no security cameras around the property. All students are advised to take their valuables home with them over the summer as break ins are a common occurrence.

A spokesperson for South Wales Police did confirm there was a break in but have said the investigation is ongoing at this point and cannot comment any further.