A TREASURE trove of stolen goods went on display in Brent in the hope burglary victims might be reunited with their possessions.
More than 350 people rummaged through tens of thousands of pounds of property which was laid out in Brent Town Hall on March 13.
Items included expensive jewellery and watches,10 flat screen televisions, 15 PC and Mac laptop computers, MP3 players and mobile phones such as I-phones and Blackberrys.
Ten burglary victims picked out objects from within the Aladdin's Cave they believe belong to them and detectives are now taking steps to establish whether they are the rightful owners.
One of these was 11-year-old Ambar Driscoll, who was reunited with her Nintendo Wii which was stolen from her family home last November.
Ambar said: “I was really upset when I lost my Wii as it was a birthday present. I was so excited to get it back. I am really looking forward to playing it again with my sister.”
Brent Neighbourhood Watch volunteers handed out teas and coffees while providing crime
prevention advice. More than 50 members signed up to join the neighbourhood watch on the day.
Mark Bennet, chairman of the association said: "It is always great to be able to advise on how to be vigilant when it comes to your property.
"Your home is where you feel safe and we, together with our partners, hope this event will be of benefit in achieving this."
Representatives from the police, Brent Council, London Fire Brigade and voluntary organisations like Victim Support were on hand to offer advice.
Mark Toland, Brent Police borough commander, said: "It was a fantastic event and well attended.
"Response from visitors was really positive. It was good for me to spend some time with some victims of crime and I received some very good feedback about how we had dealt with them and also occasions where we could have given them a much better service. I was delighted that several people will be reunited with items that had sentimental value."
Councillor Hayley Matthews, responsible for crime prevention and public safety, said: "We are determined to go on working together to spare residents from going though the emotional trauma of someone invading their home and simple measures really help.
“We want to get all residents to improve their security on windows and doors to keep burglars out. Using timer switches on such things as lights can make your home seem occupied."
