AN Ely man has come to the aid of a neighbour who was assaulted in her home when she tried to buy a washing machine via Gumtree.
Jonathan Swan, 28, provided and installed a washing machine to his neighbour free of charge after reading her story on social media.
An Ely resdient had money taken from her home after agreeing to buy a washing machine advertised on internet marketplace Gumtree.
Two men driving a large white van delivered the appliance to her Spinney Close house this weekend.
The item was in poor condition and didn’t work, but her money was taken from her by force before she had a chance to inspect the machine.
Jonathan published his offer of his spare machine on the South Wales Police Facebook page and was contacted by them shortly after.
“When I finished work last night I installed the machine for her free of charge. I was brought up in Ely and I am passionate about helping people here,” Jonathan said.
“I have also been contacted by another single mother of five children who hasn’t got a washing machine and I’ll be installing one for her free of charge too. I appreciate there are people in Ely who are less fortunate and I was raised to help people who need it.”
This is isn’t the first time Gumtree has been involved in a crime committed in Ely. Amber-Leigh Devine, 23, faced a similar situation just three months ago.
“It was the same story as Hayley. I bought a tumble dryer from Gumtree and I thought they were being kind by offering to deliver it free of charge. I asked one of the guys if I could plug it in to check it worked and then he pushed me aggressively into a corner and took my money,” Amber said.
“I reported it to the police and had photos that I had print screened of the Gumtree advert and the number they used to reach me. I was so shook up but the police told me that they couldn’t do anything about it.”
Chief Inspector Joe Jones, speaking after the incident this weekend, said: “This was a frightening assault on an innocent female who was responding to an online advertisement in good faith.
“We are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident or noticed a white van in the Ely area acting suspiciously or has experience a similar incident to come forward. I urge anyone responding to classified website ads, to do so safely.”
- Anyone with information is asked to contact South Wales Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting number 150050956.
