Sutton Coldfield man's disbelief after car stripped twice
A man whose car was stripped of parts outside his home said he felt disbelief that it had happened for a second time. Jeremy Merckle's Volkswagen Polo was targeted in the early hours of last Tuesday morning outside his home in Sutton Coldfield, where a man was caught on camera carrying the bumper down the street. "I don't know how to stop this from happening again, it seems to be an epidemic," Mr Merckle said.West Midlands Police said it was committed to identifying and arresting those responsible for stripping parts from parked cars.
Mr Merckle was first a victim of the offence, which known as car cannibalism, in September 2023. He said his insurance almost doubled as a result.He said he received a crime number from police but heard nothing else.It happened to his car for a second time last week. He said this time police visited him and took a statement. A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: "We are investigating after a car was stripped of its parts - widely known as car cannibalism.The force added that CCTV inquiries were ongoing to identify who was responsible.Mr Merckle said two other people on his street had also had their cars stripped in the past. "It just makes me really angry, because it is my car, my property and people think they can just help themselves," he added.
Mr Merckle's car was taken to be repaired at PJ Rhodes Repairs in the town.Keith Ward from the car garage said "it is not a victimless crime"."For us as a business, yeah it's great but what it will do will put our business insurance up as well as our personal insurance if we park on the premises".Mr Ward added that ironically, one of their pick up trucks had been stripped of some of its parts on Sunday night. The garage saw a spike in these cases after covid but it was mainly smaller vehicles like Vauxhall Corsas. Now, he says that Jaguars and Range Rover's are being hit.
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