A wave of break-ins to luxury cars has plagued West London, home to the uber-wealthy, falling victim to brazen thugs who terrorise the streets of the capital.
London’s rich and famous, including Jamie Laing, have fallen victim to shameless thieves who pinch eye-wateringly expensive valuables in broad daylight surrounded by onlookers.
Earlier this week, a masked cyclist broke into the boot of a Tesla parked in Mayfair and stole a Stone Island jacket worth more than £1,000.
But this is not an isolated incident – recent footage has shown a hooded figure breaking into a Mercedes-Benz parked near Harrods and making away with bags of designer goods, like Louis Vuitton, in broad daylight.
Hans Place, where the theft took place, boasts of deluxe apartments that can go for as much as £10.5million.
Shocked onlookers stare in disbelief as the brazen thief swaggers away with luxury goods and a shocked woman runs out of her house shouting ‘oi!’ as he struts off.
In another instance of thefts in the capital, two masked cyclists smashed into the back of a car and stole a luxury jacket from the boot.
A hooded figure breaks into a Mercedes-Benz parked near Harrods and makes away with bags of designer goods, like Louis Vuitton, in broad daylight
Two masked cyclists smash into the back of a car and steal a luxury jacket from the boot
The thieves steal the jacket thought to be worth £1,500 even though a pair of dog walkers stop metres away from them
Prepared with torches and face masks, the robbers heedlessly break into the vehicle and steal what is believed to be £1,500 jacket – even though a couple walking their dog stop just metres away.
As the car alarm goes off, they peddle away quickly and jump a red light to flee the scene.
The Metropolitan Police have been contacted for comment.
This shameful method was similar to the car theft of the Tesla which was caught on the electric vehicle’s CCTV system and gave a clear picture of the cycling thief.
But because he was wearing a face covering, police have almost no chance of a description as all that was visible was his eyes.
The theft took place in Knightsbridge, London, outside homes that can cost more than £11million and only a stones throw away from historic department store Harrods.
Stone Island coats cost around £1,000 but can go for as much as £1,300.
The driver had left the bag on view in the vehicle and the car’s windows were fully tinted.
Cameras on the side and rear of the expensive American car picked up the moment the thief spotted the car, parked up his bike and then smashed the back window.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘Police are investigating a theft that occurred at around 15:50hrs on Monday, 10 March in Green Street, W1 in which a man was reported to have stolen items from the back of a car.
‘No arrest have been made at this stage. Enquiries continue.’
Earlier this week, Made in Chelsea star Jamie Lang revealed he was victim to another burglary, only a week after his Notting Hill home was burgled.
Speaking on his Radio 1 show on Monday, Jamie said: ‘So, I live in London, I was with my wife Sophie and we went to get in our car.
‘It’s parked around the place we live, and it’s London right, things maybe go missing occasionally or whatever.
‘I walked up to the car, and the car looked a little bit funny, the door was slightly open, and I was like, “hang on a second, has someone managed to get into the car?”
‘Came up to the car and we had been robbed
Last week, Jamie and his wife Sophie Habboo, 30, were victim to another car burglary
‘They left the pineapple in one seat and the melon in another seat.
‘I said to my wife, “did you leave these in the car?” and she was like, “no?”, so I don’t know if it’s a sign or the mark they leave.’
In January, the Lib Dem MP Lisa Smart said that car thefts in the capital have been ‘decriminalised’ after the Metropolitan Police failed to solve nine out of 10 cases of auto theft in the capital.
Only 0.9 per cent of investigations into car theft resulted in a charge against the perpetrator – the lowest figure of any regional police force in England.
Between April and June 2024, the Met ended 7,996 out of 8,861 car theft investigations (90.24 per cent) without identifying a suspect – an increase from 88.7 per cent for the previous three months and the highest rate in two years.
Ms Smart, who serves as MP for Hazel Grove, called the figures ‘staggering’ and said that while the statistics applied to the period when the Conservatives were in power, Labour had not done enough to rectify the problem since coming to power.
‘These shocking figures will leave people wondering if car theft has been decriminalised in this country,’ Ms Smart said.
‘Tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales are being left without the justice they deserve, with a staggeringly high number of car thefts going unsolved, and thieves getting away scot free,’ she said.
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‘This cannot continue. Every victim of a crime deserves to feel safe and protected by the police, but unfortunately after brutal cuts to community police officers that is far from the truth.
‘We urge the Government to change the course by getting tough on crime, investing properly in local neighbourhood policing and keeping communities safe.’
A Met Police spokesperson said they were ‘prioritising vehicle crime under our New Met for London plan, and are driving a number of initiatives to tackle the increase and reduce offending’.
The figures, shared in January, were released only days after the Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan was given a knighthood, in the face of strong opposition from groups who feel he has failed to tackle crime in the capital.
West London has frequently been targeted for thefts in the past – in 2023 gangs of thieves reportedly use key jammers to steal Ferraris and Range Rovers as well as machetes to slice £100,000 watches off their victims’ wrists.angs of thieves reportedly use key jammers to steal Ferraris and Range Rovers as well as machetes to slice £100,000 watches off their victims’ wrists.
James Thompson, chair of heritage group The Chelsea Society, said: ‘We have had a spate of machete guys going for women and taking their watches.
Gangs of thieves have reportedly used key jammers to steal Ferraris and Range Rovers as well as machetes to slice £100,000 watches off their victims’ wrists in Chelsea, West London (pictured here: people looking into cars)
Videos on TikTok show the criminals boasting about their stealing sprees. This balaclava-clad thug showed the stolen Ferrari he drove down a Central London street
‘One happened right opposite, they said “if you don’t give us your ring we’ll cut your fingers off”.’
Videos on TikTok show the criminals boasting about their stealing sprees.
Chelsea was recently named the UK’s most expensive place to live, with Tite Street leading as the most expensive road with average house prices of £30million.
One of the homes on Tite Street has a private security team and a guard dog squad to protect the property and its owners after crime is reportedly getting worse in the area.
