A pensioner was left in a furious flush after trying to report a burglary at a police HQ – when he was told no officers were available as they were busy playing poker.

Former financial advisor Graham Hall, 69, went for help after discovering a games room annexe at a house he rents had been broken into by burglars in the night.

He first walked to his local police station in Kidlington, Oxon, but found it shuts at 5pm for the night so walked to the HQ of Thames Valley Police 150 yards up the road.

Angry Mr Hall tried to report the theft of hundreds of pounds of worth of snooker equipment but a security guard said nobody was available to help tackle the burglary.

The guard explained a card game was going on involving 14 officers in the social club as it was poker night.

Instead he was handed a FRIDGE MAGNET with the force's non-emergency telephone number and told to ring it.

Gobsmacked Mr Hall could not believe it but rang up and spoke to an operator who promised that a police officer would get in touch – but has still not heard anything a week later.

Father-of-four Mr Hall said: "When I got to the police station it was shut so I went to the HQ where a security guard popped up from behind the desk and said 'Good evening, are you here for the poker?'.

"I said: 'Excuse me have I got it wrong?...I thought this was a police station, not a casino'.

"I told him I had been burgled and had come to Thames Valley Police's nerve centre to report a crime but he said I couldn't do that here and he gave me a fridge magnet with a phone number to ring.

"I was flabbergasted that you can't even report a crime at the police HQ and left shaking my head wondering where all the money I had paid over the years in tax had actually gone to.

"The fact is that a crime had been committed on their doorstep but not one person could be bothered to come out and talk to me because they were gambling in a poker school at the nick.

"It's laughable but I've got no confidence in the force whatsoever," he said.

Mr Hall, of Oxford, discovered the break-in when he visited a rental property he owns in nearby Kidlington at 6.45pm last Wednesday night where thieves had broken into a games room annexe.

Mr Hall walked 300 yards to Kidlington Police Station but a sign on the door said it closed at 5pm every night so he went 150 yards down the road to Thames Valley Police HQ instead.

After pressing the buzzer on the front gate he was let in by a security guard who informed him the station was not open to the public but officers were busy playing poker upstairs.

After ringing the number on the fridge magnet, Mr Hall gave brief details of the raid to the telephone operator, who told him that a Scenes of Crime officer would be in touch.

But Mr Hall – who will have to fork out £150 to replace both doors and a padlock to his games room – is furious that he has heard nothing for a week.

He said: "Not only do I have to pay for new snooker balls and cues as well as the two doors but no one from the police has even bothered to contact me in relation to the raid.

"The doors are still damaged and I've had to reinforce them as best I can with wood until I can get them replaced. I had left them to be fingerprinted but it seems police can't be bothered.

"I feel extremely let down by the police who would rather play cards than catch criminals."

A spokeswoman for Thames Valley police said yesterday: "The poker tournament held at the police station took place in the force's sport and social club.

"The security guard who spoke to Mr Hall assumed he was a member of staff here for the poker game.

"When it became evident he was not, he explained that we could not take details of the burglary and directed him to the non-emergency number."

The spokeswoman added that officers had not been dispatched to the scene as a matter of urgency because the incident is classed as a 'non dwelling burglary'.

However, an officer will now be in touch with Mr Hall as soon as possible, she added.

A spokesman for the local licencing authority, Cherwell District Council, said card games and gambling are legally permitted at the police HQ under the terms of its licence.

Thames Valley Police have responded;

Stories have appeared in the media this week regarding a burglary victim who tried to report the crime at Thames Valley Police HQ in Kidlington and was told officers were playing poker.

The true facts of the matter are that police HQ is not an operational police station so the gentleman was unable to report the crime at this building, and was advised to call our single non-emergency number 0845 8 505 505 which is the quickest and most effective way to report a crime.

There is a sign at the entrance to the HQ building which clearly states that it is a headquarters building and not an operational station, and redirects visitors to the nearest stations, giving their opening times. Although the gentleman's nearest police station, Kidlington, was closed at the time he wished to report the burglary, St Aldates in Oxford was open.

The gentleman's visit to HQ coincided with a poker evening organised by the Thames Valley Police Sports and Social Club which was attended by off-duty staff. The evenings are limited to a maximum of 20 staff, with a top stake of £2.50 a game and small cash prizes, and are intended to raise money for the Sports and Social Club.  The nights operate fully in compliance with the licence held by Thames Valley Police HQ.

The security guard who spoke to the gentleman assumed he was a member of staff here for the poker game. When it became evident he was not, he explained that he could not take details of the burglary and directed him to the non-emergency number.

Thames Valley Police takes any complaints about its service seriously and does have a proper process for dealing with them. If the gentleman is unhappy with the service he has received, he can contact our Quality of Service Unit via e mail at QoSUnit@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk or in writing to the Quality of Service Unit, Thames Valley Police HQ, Oxford Road, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 2NX.