A dozen cars were broken into at Abingdon's Tilsley Park on Thursday night as their owners played football.

Thames Valley Police declined to attend.

If there had been a major crime in the area that explains their absence, fair enough.

But as yet no mention of such an event has seeped out of our police force that merits not a single member of our 4,000-plus officers turning up at the scene.

Indeed police point blank refused to say if anything was taxing them at that moment.

Their explanation that it was raining and so any forensic evidence would have been washed away similarly falls short.

In fact it was patently untrue as it was not raining.

Let's be charitable and also overlook that when ONE of their own patrol cars was bricked in Didcot recently FIVE squad cars, the helicopter and a police dog were dispatched to chase the miscreant.

We realise car break-ins may not be the most significant crime but surely when there are 12 that have happened at one spot at one time it is worth looking for some clues at the scene rather than asking victims to do all the legwork by bringing their vehicles down to the police station.

But the real issue, whatever the chances were of catching the thieves, is the appalling message it sends to these victims of crime - we're Thames Valley Police and we don't care about you.