
Stolen Land Rover tracked down by Epping couple using tech
The 57-year-old admitted he was a "geeky techy dad" but told BBC Essex: "I only helped the police. It's not like I identified any criminal masterminds."
Mr Taylor said his doorbell camera showed evidence of the car leaving the family home at 01:15 BST, and the Land Rover remote app recorded the car arriving in Enfield, north London, about 30 minutes later.It arrived at the estate off Selinas Lane in Dagenham at 03:57, according to the app.Mr Taylor said he realised the car had disappeared from the driveway while having his morning coffee."I shouted up to my wife to check she hadn't moved it and then called the police," he added.But given the couple already had location information, they drove to the estate with their son, where they could see the car through gaps in the doors of an industrial unit."It was completely in bits; it's a shell," he described.Officers from the Met Police joined them at the scene and gained access."It's a nightmare. We can't really live without it and it's been the family car - been on holiday with us - takes us to work," he said."It's central to our lives in that regard, and suddenly its not there."
An Essex Police spokesperson said: "At this stage, no arrests have been made and we're following a number of targeted lines of inquiry and we're in contact with Mr Taylor and keeping him updated."Figures for the force show that in the last 12 months to the end of May, the number of thefts of motor vehicles reported decreased by almost 10%.In the same time frame, the number of incidents being solved increased by more than 120%, the force added.
Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Notting Hill carnival machete attacker jailed for 18 years for attempted murder after he launched himself at teenager and slashed open his stomach
A teenager will spend 18 years behind bars after he attacked a stranger with a 10-inch 'zombie knife' at Notting Hill Carnival. Rumarni Tuitt, 19, from Walthamstow, north-east London, stabbed 18-year-old Kamani Spooner with the deadly weapon on the evening of August 24 last year. He was found guilty of attempted murder back on May 8 following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey. Sentencing him on Friday, Judge Judy Khan KC said it was a 'brutal and wholly unjustifiable attack and that there was no justification for carrying a knife of that nature on to crowded streets. 'This was a particularly serious offence committed in the heart of Europe's biggest street festival,' she added. In a witness statement for the police, Mr Spooner said he spent much of the day drinking with his friends and enjoying the carnival before the horrific assault unfolded. 'Towards the end of the carnival, he [Mr Spooner] could hear shouting coming from somewhere and he realised he was somehow in the middle of it,' prosecutor Mark Paltenghi told jurors. 'He then saw people fighting around him - three of them were quite close, they were throwing punches. 'He then recalls being hit in the back and upon looking at his arm, saw it had been cut, then looked down and saw that his intestines were hanging out. He put his hand over them and just ran. Mr Tuitt also stabbed Mr Spooner four more times to the side and the back and caused a laceration to his right forearm. Officers arrested Mr Tuitt immediately after the attack and were able to provide vital medical treatment to his victim until paramedics could reach them. Despite having his stomach sliced open, Mr Spooner miraculously survived his injuries thanks to life saving surgery. The zombie-style knife used, described by police as 'at least 10 inches in length', was recovered from the scene. 'Zombie-style' is the street name given to weapons which are over eight inches in length and often have a serrated edge, spikes or more than two sharp points. During his trial in May, the court heard that Mr Tuitt and Mr Spooner did not know each other. Mr Tuitt said that he was acting in self defence but the jury rejected his claim. Acting Detective Inspector Sophie McLoughlin, who led the investigation, said: 'This was a savage and senseless attack. The victim was very lucky to survive his injuries. 'Hundreds of thousands of people, including the victim in this case, go to Carnival to have a good time and enjoy the music and entertainment. 'Those who would choose to turn up armed with a 10 inch zombie knife clearly have no such intentions. 'It is thanks to the vigilance of officers on duty that day and the hard work of my team in the months since that we were able to build the case that saw Tuitt convicted at court. 'It is also thanks to officers' immediate medical intervention at the scene, as well as the specialist further care by paramedics, that we're talking about a conviction for attempted murder and not worse. 'I hope the victim can now move forward and begin to put this experience behind him.'


Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Mother of Baby P would pose a 'high risk' if she was ever around children once freed, parole board warns
Baby P's monster mother could pose a high risk if she were freed and allowed near children, experts fear. Tracey Connelly's toddler son died at home in Tottenham, north London, on August 3, 2007, and she pleaded guilty to causing or allowing the death of a child in 2008. The 43-year-old launched a fresh bid for freedom earlier this year after she was sent back to jail for breaching licence conditions. But in a judgement ordering that a two-day parole hearing is heard in public, the Parole Board said it will assess whether her risk of violence remains low, The Mirror reports. 'But risk would be high and potentially imminent if she were to have access to children while other risk factors are present', the judgement said. 'Miss Connelly, in interview, has stated that she will not be seeking unconditional release due to the support she would lose'. Documents also claim she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was subjected to 'bullying and aggression' after her recall to prison. Her solicitor had fought for the upcoming parole hearing to be held in private. The report states: 'He submits that a public hearing will only exacerbate these issues and will have a significant and detrimental effect upon Ms Connelly's ability to five effective and accurate evidence at the hearing'. The disgraced mother was hauled back to jail in September for breaching her jail conditions and was promised an oral parole hearing. She was handed an indefinite sentence with a minimum term of five years in 2009, after covering up her 17-month-old son Peter's injuries caused by her twister lover. Connelly has struggled to stay out of trouble since her initial release in 2013, having repeatedly breached licence conditions. The vile mum was first recalled to prison in 20155 after selling naked photos of herself online to depraved male admirers - and was released again in July 2022. It was revealed back in April that she may be free again by the end of the year. A date has not yet been set for her parole hearing, but it is believed it will take place around late summer - in August or September. The parole board could decide to release her there and then, depending on the circumstances surrounding how she was recalled and her behaviour since. They may also direct a hearing to take place, where a panel will decide after assessing various pieces of material, evidence and information. Connelly previously claimed that cops over-reacted when they recalled her to prison for a second time, saying the breaches of her licence conditions were minimal. Her lawyers have also insisted she is no longer a danger to the public. Connelly's lover Steven Barker was jailed in 2009 for a minimum of 12 years while his brother, Jason Owen, received a six-year jail sentence for allowing the toddler to die. When Connolly was first released, she was made subject to 20 licence conditions, including having to wear an electronic tag and disclose all her relationships, having her internet use monitored or obeying curfew. She was also banned from going to certain places to 'avoid contact with victims and to protect children'. The Parole Board said that she had been cleared due to a low risk of reoffending and that probation officers and prison officials supported the plan. It will now be a matter for the Board to decide if the latest breach of her conditions was so serious that she should not be released. A Parole Board spokesperson said back in April: 'It's been directed to an oral hearing now but no hearing date has been set yet.'


Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Telegraph
Princess Anne's attempted kidnapper released from psychiatric hospital
A man who attempted to kidnap Princess Anne and shot four people has been freed from Broadmoor Hospital. Ian Ball, who stalked the Princess and ambushed her limousine in March 1974, also attacked the men who came to her rescue. He admitted attempted kidnap and two attempted murders when he was brought before the Old Bailey and was sentenced aged 26. Ball, who was deemed mentally ill, was detained 'without limit of time' under the Mental Health Act but the Daily Mail has reported he has been released from Broadmoor. He was released on probation in 2019. Ball, 77, in an interview with the Daily Mail, said: 'I'm an innocent, sane man because I had good reason to believe the gunpowder had been taken out of the bullets and another girl had been substituted for Princess Anne.' Ball claimed it would be a 'waste of time' to apologise to the men he shot, and said of Anne, who had two guns waved in her face: 'She wasn't bothered on the night... I didn't scare her. I was more scared than she was.' It has been reported that the Princess Royal and royal security chiefs have been informed of Ball's release. Buckingham Palace declined to comment. During the hearing at the Old Bailey in May 1974, two months after the incident, he did not deny the charges brought against him including attempted kidnap, attempting to murder two policemen, and wounding a chauffeur along with a journalist. He confirmed that he brought the Princess's car to a halt by skidding his Ford Escort then held her up by gunpoint, grabbed her arm and threatened to shoot her. Ball held her by the right arm and the Princess's then-husband, Captain Mark Phillips, pulled her by the left arm, ripping her velvet dress. Ball shot her police bodyguard, her chauffeur, a police constable and a journalist who rushed to help. The Princess refused to leave the car, famously saying: 'Not bloody likely.' In his self-published 'autobiographical novel', To Kidnap A Princess, Ball has claimed his innocence. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'Restricted patients can be recalled to hospital if their mental health deteriorates such that the risk they pose becomes unmanageable in the community.' Ball claimed the kidnap 'hoax' was set up with a police officer known as Frank. He was never found, although Ball claimed it was Frank who removed the gunpowder from his bullets and substituted another woman for the Princess. He said: 'The whole idea of performing the hoax was to get the publicity so I could write my autobiography, and I expected to get £10,000 in royalties.'