Police are looking for thieves who stole a tentbox from a van belonging to a military family in St Athan.
A solider living in the East Camp area woke up on Tuesday morning to find it had been taken from the roof of his Volkswagen Transport van overnight.
It's understood there is CCTV footage of the theft, showing "shadowy figures" with their hoods up and evidence has been gathered from the scene.
The soldier, who did not wish to be identified, said it felt like a 'big betrayal' after serving in conflict zones and even visiting Buckingham Palace earlier this year to pick up an award for his services to the Ministry of Defence.
"I've just got to accept I'm not getting it back...unless somebody has physically seen somebody walking out of the estate with it or into the new estate, I'm not going to get it back", he said
"They came on foot, there were no vehicles. If I had just stayed up another 30 minutes I would have caught them in the act."
The soldier's wife added: "Our boys are devastated as that's our summer plans ruined before their Dad deploys again in the winter. It really has hurt us as a family."
A South Wales Police spokesperson told Bro Radio News: "We are investigating the theft of a tent box stolen from the roof of a Volkswagen Transport sometime between 11pm last night and 6am today in Celyn Close, St Athan."

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