A MOTHER-of-two taking her family on a summer holiday trip to the cinema has revealed her anger at a lack of CCTV monitoring a “criminal hotspot” after her car was broken into.

Kimberley Barrass had enjoyed seeing a film with her two children and her husband in Darlington’s Odeon cinema, off Northgate, after travelling into town from her home 15 miles away in Hunwick, County Durham.

The family’s car was left parked in one of 14 bays on Wooler Street, to the side of the Odeon building, during their daytime visit.

However, Mrs Barrass was shocked to find a rear window of the vehicle had been smashed during their time in the cinema and her eight-year-old daughter’s handbag had been stolen from the backseat.

The mother-of-two said: “We’d come from out of town because we wanted to support the Odeon and have a nice, cheap, family day out together to the cinema.

“But what we thought would be a cheap day has actually cost us £150 to fix the car and I’m just so upset and annoyed that my two children have had to see this.

“I’m sorry for them because there was shattered glass all over the booster seat and it was upsetting for them.”

“I know people will say it’s our fault, but the bag is black and so are the car seats and we didn’t even see it when we got out of the car and there was nothing in it.

“We’re not from the area, so we weren’t aware that the area is particularly dangerous, but since it’s happened a lot of people have come forward to tell me the same thing has happened to them – it’s a criminal hotspot.”

Durham Police were contacted over the incident that happened on the afternoon of Sunday, July 30.

However, Mrs Barrass has revealed her concerns that other cinemagoers may also be at risk of thieves operating in the area and hopes that CCTV cameras can be installed in the area.

A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman said: “This has been a distressing incident for the lady concerned.

“We work closely with the police and take public safety seriously operating more than 100 CCTV cameras throughout the borough – mostly in town centre areas.

“Whilst many of our central off street car parks are covered by CCTV and enjoy low crime rates, we do not have the resources to cover every street in the borough.

“Our parking wardens patrol on and off street areas and their presence is seen as an effective deterrent to would-be thieves.

“To help deter thieves further, we would advise all motorists to ensure they leave valuables, bags and coats, out of sight when they leave their car for any length of time.”