Couple turn detective and steal back their own Jaguar after 'police fail to act'

Daily Mirror

4 hours ago

The pair had fitted their Jaguar E-Pace, worth around £46,000, with an Apple AirTag, allowing them to trace it to a street in London - but after calling 999, they were told police couldn't immediately help
A couple were forced to steal back their own Jaguar after police told them they couldn't offer immediate help. Mia Forbes Pirie and Mark Simpson discovered their car missing from outside their Brook Green home in West London on Wednesday morning.
The pair had fitted the Jaguar E-Pace, worth around £46,000, with an Apple AirTag, allowing them to trace it to a street in Chiswick by 10.30am. But after calling 999, they were told police could not say when they might be able to investigate. With no help on the way, the couple took matters into their own hands.
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Simpson said he was "nervous" as he and Ms Forbes Pirie made the four-mile journey to the car 's new location. They found the vehicle abandoned on a quiet back street, with the carpets and interior stripped by thieves who had attempted to access its wiring.
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The car had also been fitted with a 'ghost immobiliser' - a security device that prevents the car from starting unless a specific sequence of buttons is pressed on the dashboard.
Ms Forbes Pirie, 48, and Simpson, 62, both legal professionals, had installed multiple layers of security after a previous car theft. The last AirTag signal had pinged outside their home at around 3.20am, suggesting the car was likely taken overnight.
Neighbours later reported hearing unusual noises during the night. The couple believe the theft was "reasonably sophisticated" and likely involved a tow or flatbed truck.
Posting to LinkedIn, Ms Forbes Pirie said it was "kind of fun" stealing back the car but questioned "why we should have had to do that".
She added: "[Is] it right that the police seem to have no interest in investigating what is likely to have been a reasonably sophisticated operation involving a flat bed truck… if there are no consequences, what is the incentive for people not to do more of this?"
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Speaking to the Times, Ms Forbes Pirie said she thought the Met's inability to respond was down to a lack of resourcing. She said: "The police are under-resourced and it's a shame.
"But if there aren't any consequences to people stealing cars or a lot of the other crimes where there aren't any consequences, then I don't really see what the deterrent is to stop people from doing it more."
Official Met Police figures show there were 33,530 motor vehicle thefts in London in 2024 - a 1.6% rise on the previous year. Only 326 resulted in a 'positive outcome' such as a charge or caution, a rate of less than 1%.
Last May, George Nicolas had his £93,000 Maserati Levante stolen. Despite tracking its location, he said police told him to recover it himself due to lack of manpower.
And in April this year, Ewan Valentine, 36, unknowingly spent over £20,000 buying back his own stolen Honda Civic Type R on an online listing, weeks after it was taken from his driveway.