‘Goldilocks’ burglar hunted after breaking into luxurious £450,000 seashore hut and residing there for every week
Police are searching for a Goldilocks-style burglar who broke into one of Britain’s most expensive beach huts and ended up squatting there for a week.
The unknown woman let herself into the £450,000 wooden cabin at Mudeford Spit in Christchurch Harbour, Dorset, by breaking a window pane.
It is believed she slept in the hut for seven days and used the kitchen facilities for cooking.
The isolated sandbank is typically quiet at this time of the year and the squatter chose a hut at the far end of the peninsula and furthest from a public footpath.
It was only when a neighbour visited the targeted hut that a broken window was noticed – and inside they found signs that someone had been staying there.
The crime has prompted comparisons with the c hildren’s story of Goldilocks, a young girl who invaded a home belonging to a family of three bears – trying out their chairs, eating their porridge and finally being found sleeping in one of their beds.
And a Grade II listed thatched ‘Burton cottage’ not far away is said to be the tale’s inspiration.
That home in the Dorset village of Burton in Christchurch, on the edge of New Forest National Park, is where former poet laureate Robert Southey – who wrote Goldilocks and the Three Bears – lived with his wife Edith from 1799 to 1805.
An unknown woman let herself into the £450,000 wooden cabin at Mudeford Spit in Christchurch Harbour, Dorset, by breaking a window pane, police say
Police now investigating the beach hut break-in found suspected stolen bank cards in various names, purses and wallets inside the hut.
Officers have told how the intruder had left the cabin dirty, messy and covered in litter and stale food.
Enquiries suggested a woman believed to have been the squatter was previously seen in the area for about a week.
Dorset Police has now urged hut owners to check their cabins for damage and ensure they are secure for the winter months.
The 360 huts at Mudeford are highly prized, helped by their idyllic seaside setting.
Cars are banned and the only ways of getting there are a 20-minute walk, a ride on a novelty land train or a short ferry trip across the mouth of Christchurch Harbour.
It is not possible to secure mortgages for the huts, with new owners having to pay in cash while also handing over annual licence fees and council tax worth about £4,000.
Owners can only stay overnight in the properties from March to October and there is no electricity or running water, with toilets and showers in communal blocks.
The 360 huts at Mudeford are highly prized, helped by their idyllic seaside setting
It was only when a neighbour visited the targeted hut that a broken window was noticed – and inside they found signs that someone had been staying there
Many fit their huts with solar panels and gas canisters to power items including fridges, cookers and lighting.
Over the past 20 years, prices for beach huts at Mudeford have soared from £80,000 to almost £500,000.
A spokesperson for Christchurch Police said: ‘One of the neighbours noticed the damaged window, and a female seen in the vicinity is believed to have been staying inside for possibly a week, leaving it dirty, messy and covered in litter and stale food.
‘Bank cards in various names, purses and wallets were also found inside.
‘Seafront Commercial Operations boarded up the window and made the hut secure.
‘Enquiries continue and hut owners are encouraged to check their huts for damage and to make them secure for the coming winter months.’
