YouTube star has £30k Porsche stolen by crooks who used it as battering ram in brazen petrol station raid
The SUV, which belongs to used car dealer Joe Betty - known for his YouTube channel Shifting Metal - was stolen from a site in Highbridge, Somerset, and then used in a ram raid on a nearby Asda.
3
3
3
According to Car Dealer Mag, a group of men broke into the garage and took off with the Cayenne, as well as a Ford S-Max.
Both cars were then driven to an Asda petrol station, where they were used as battering rams in an attempt to get inside.
The Porsche, a high-end, V8 S Tiptronic S model from 2015 that's typically priced between £15,000 to £30,000, was purchased by Betty just days before the incident.
He'd even lined up a buyer for it and had taken a deposit when he'd sent it for an MOT test.
He said: 'I bought it from an auction on the Monday, we drove it back on the same day and incredibly it was one of those rare occasions in the motor trade where we'd taken a deposit and it was ready to go out when it was stolen on the Thursday night.
'We phoned the customer that morning, just letting them know.
'They are still trying to buy another car from us but it's finding the right car for them now, because it was a very nice spec model and had all the right things they wanted.
'I haven't seen it as it's currently at a recovery yard and I'm waiting to see what happens with the MOT centre and insurance.
'From what I could see [at the petrol station], it looked like it had lost engine oil.
"Some rumours I'd heard from a couple of different places was that it was left running.
Watch moment car thief boy, 9, sneaks into uninsured £135k PORSCHE to go on daring joyride - but it doesn't end well
'If that's the case then the engine will be no good anymore.
'The back end of the car I haven't seen unfortunately, because the last time I saw it had an Asda Express parked on it but I can't imagine it's great.
'I think it would probably be salvageable if it weren't for the engine. It would certainly be thousands of pounds of work, I would guess.'
The damage occurred when the crooks reversed the Porsche into the main entrance of the store, before seemingly getting it stuck on a metal pillar.
Meanwhile, the Ford was smashed into a smaller unit outside the store.
The group later escaped the scene in a getaway vehicle which was on false plates.
According to Betty, police took DNA evidence at the scene, but he doubts the gang will be found.
He added: 'I think in the motor trade you kind of just get used to these weird and wonderful problems that you have.
'I'm quite nonchalant about it at the moment but I imagine, as it drags on and is just trickling in the background, it get more upsetting.
'It has made us think about our own security, I guess.
'We've had someone try to steal a car from the forecourt before. They smashed the window of a Fiesta ST, but set the alarm off and ran away but that's about it, really.
'We've been quite lucky up until now, in a sense but this has definitely tipped the scale.
'The police are working on it, but other than perhaps getting some DNA, which they've taken swabs from the scene, I don't think they've got much to go on, because everyone was wearing masks and the getaway car was on cloned plates.
'The footage that we had of them cutting into the MOT centre, they were so nonchalant about it that I think this is not their first rodeo.
'They've done it before and I don't think there's much hope of conviction coming to be honest.'
A spokesperson for Somerset and Avon Police said: ''At 3.44am on Friday 23 May we received a report of a group of men trying to force entry to a building off the A371 in Locking.
'Officers arrived five minutes later and found the group had left the area after damaging the building.
'Officers carried out a search of the area, supported by a specialist dog team, but no one was located.
'A black Porsche Cayenne and a grey Ford S-Max were found damaged at the scene. Both vehicles are believed to have been stolen during a burglary in Commerce Way, Highbridge earlier in the night.
'The group of men are believed to have left the area in a blue Audi Q5. They were wearing black clothing and balaclavas.
'Anyone with information is asked to call 101, using the reference number 5225143650.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Fresh trade deal calls as Trump tariffs hit UK exports
British exports to the US have plummeted by 13.5 per cent, or £2bn, in the last three months compared to the same period in 2024. This significant decline is attributed to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, which include a 10 per cent levy on most UK goods and a 25 per cent levy on steel and aluminium. The fall occurred despite a US-UK trade agreement signed in June, which failed to include carve-outs for the steel industry. The British Chambers of Commerce said that the effects of the tariffs are clearly being felt by companies exporting to the US. Ministers are now facing calls to secure the outstanding part of the trade deal, particularly concerning the high tariffs on steel and aluminium exports.
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Labour fails to rule out annual tuition fee rise to stop universities going bust
The education secretary has said the government is looking at allowing universities to hike tuition fees every year based on inflation to stop them going bust. It comes less than a year after Bridget Phillipson announced that fees would increase in England for the first time in eight years as part of a major overhaul of the higher education system. Tuition fees have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, but in November, it was announced that they would increase in line with the Retail Price Index inflation in September 2025. Asked whether the government would allow universities an inflation-linked tuition fee increase every year to improve their financial situation, Ms Phillipson did not rule it out. She told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: 'We did give universities an increase through the tuition fee increase that we delivered last year, but we'll be looking at all of these areas around the long-term financial sustainability of universities as part of that post-16 white paper that we'll set out later on this year. 'We do also believe alongside that further reform will be needed, but also working together with other institutions, like further education, to bring education, training opportunities and skills much closer to where people are, including those people – adults, in particular – who might be further away from the labour market.' The remarks – which came on A-level results day – appear to set Labour on course for a clash with one of their biggest voter bases, students, and come despite Sir Keir Starmer's promise to abolish university tuition fees entirely when he stood to be Labour leader in 2020. He rowed back on the pledge in 2023, saying it was no longer affordable as a result of the country's financial situation, instead promising Labour would come up with a 'fairer solution' if it formed the next government. It comes amid growing concern over the state of the education sector, with many universities facing financial crisis. As many as 40 per cent of English universities are expected to fall into a budget deficit this year, a report from the Office for Students (OfS) said. The OfS, which regulates higher education providers, said universities needed "significant reform and efficiencies" to turn the tide, despite some institutions already closing courses and selling buildings to cut costs. It said a drop in international students coming to the UK was the main reason for the worsening financial position. Speaking on Thursday, Ms Phillipson said the government had already taken action to help universities, but that there is more to do. Asked about universities' financial struggles, she told Times Radio: 'I've made it a priority to put our universities on a more sustainable footing. 'The action that we've taken in turning around the regulator, the Office for Students, much more of a focus on universities' financial health, but also the difficult but necessary decision that we took quite early on as a government to increase tuition fees to make sure that universities have a more stable funding stream into the future. 'There is more to do and later on this year we'll be setting out our plans for post-16 education overall, including universities, through a white paper we'll be publishing.' On international students, the education secretary said they made an 'important contribution' to the UK's universities and economy, and 'will always be welcome in the UK'. She added: 'It is also fair to say that some institutions, their business model has allowed them to become too dependent on international students, and therefore too open to any fluctuations that may happen around that.'
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Street preacher who lost Spectator libel case to challenge High Court ruling
An Islamic street preacher who lost a High Court libel case against The Spectator and the magazine's associate editor has said he will be appealing against the decision. Mohammed Hegab, known online as Mohammed Hijab, sued the publication and Douglas Murray over an article that alleged he was a 'street agitator' who whipped up his followers and made disparaging comments about Hindus in the wake of the 2022 Leicester riots, which he denied. In a ruling last week, Mr Justice Johnson found that the article from September 2022 was 'defamatory' at common law, but dismissed the claim. He said: 'The publication has not caused, and is not now likely to cause, serious harm to the claimant's reputation. 'In any event, it is substantially true, and it is not materially inaccurate.' The judge also found that, as a witness, Mr Hegab was 'combative and constantly argumentative'. In his written judgment, he said: 'He sought, at every turn, to debate with counsel, responding to questions with rhetorical questions of his own, arguing his case rather than giving straightforward responses, and denigrating the character of the second defendant to whom he bears palpable personal animosity. 'I am satisfied that he lied on significant issues, with the consequence that his evidence, overall, is worthless.' In a YouTube video posted on Wednesday, Mr Hegab said he had 'learned a lot' from the process, adding that he would be appealing against the ruling. He said: 'I didn't expect it to go that way. I was very disappointed, very disheartened with the ruling.' He added: 'I will be appealing this judgment.' In the clip, Mr Hegab also accused the judge of being biased, adding that he had made the mistake of 'putting a bit too much trust in the justice systems in the West'. The defamation trial centred around a video Mr Hegab made amid violence between Muslims and Hindus in Leicester in the summer of 2022, which was sparked after India won a cricket match against Pakistan in August that year. In it, he said: 'If they believe in reincarnation … what a humiliation and pathetic thing for them to be reincarnated into some pathetic, weak, cowardly people like that. 'I'd rather be an animal. I'd rather be reincarnated as a grasshopper…' During the trial in London, Mr Hegab claimed it was clear from the context that he was not talking about Hindus, but Hindutva, an extremist far-right ideology. But Mr Justice Johnson said that Mr Hegab 'knew exactly what he was doing' and 'chose his words deliberately'.
