A GANG of masked thieves smashed through the garage door of a Southampton home and stole a prized moped worth around £10,000.

Graham Rosamond has vented his anger and warned that the Shirley area of the city is “getting like the wild west”.

The former Sergeant major says he now feels unsafe in his own home after a gang of around eight people riding motorbikes and mopeds raided his garage in broad daylight.

Daily Echo: Graham's garage door was damaged by a gang of moped thieves.Graham's garage door was damaged by a gang of moped thieves.

In CCTV footage seen by the Daily Echo, some of the group can be seen throwing themselves at the doors before making off with the 74-year-old’s Yamaha TMAX 530 DX and a road bike.

Graham, who served in the Royal Corps of Transport for 23-years with stints in Northern Ireland, Yemen and Berlin - called the break-in on November 6, both frightening and brazen.

He said: “I’ve been a biker all my life and I usually have a scooter. It only had 3,000 miles on the clock. The bikes were in the garage, locked up, and I went out. I came back about quarter to five and I saw my garage door was open and I see my scooter was missing.

“They had white face masks on. They had gloves. They looked like they were taped on. There were four on big motorbikes and the rest were little scooters. I’ve lived here 38-years and it’s the first time I’ve seen anything like it at all.

Two big guys ran at the door. One kicked the bottom and the other one kicked the top and pushed the bolts out. They twisted the whole door.

Graham has since installed a safety post outside his garage. He said: “It’s going to cost me £11,500 to replace.

Daily Echo: The army veteran has now installed a security post. The army veteran has now installed a security post.

A spokesperson for Hampshire police said: “We have received a report of a burglary at an address in Salem Street, Southampton, which occurred around 5pm on November 6. A bicycle and Yamaha motorcycle were stolen.

“Anyone with information or who saw anything suspicious should call 101, quoting the reference 44210446054.”