Latest news with #BrookGreen
Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Telegraph
Couple ‘steal back' their own Jaguar after police fail to help
A couple were forced to 'steal' back their own Jaguar after police told them they were too busy to help. Mia Forbes Pirie and Mark Simpson managed to track the vehicle to an address just four miles from their home in Brook Green, West London, using an Apple Airtag. However, the Metropolitan Police said it did not know when it would be able to investigate, despite being given the Jaguar E-Pace's exact location in Chiswick. After telling the force they would retrieve it themselves, the pair were told to ring 101 if successful, according to The Times. Ms Forbes Pirie, 48, and Mr Simpson, 62, first noticed the car – fitted with a ghost immobiliser and tracker – was missing on Wednesday morning. An update from the Airtag at 10.30am showed it to be just a 10-minute drive away. With no support coming from officers, the couple decided to investigate, before managing to retrieve the SUV themselves. In a post on her LinkedIn, Ms Forbes Pirie, a former solicitor, admitted it had been 'kind of fun' to 'steal back' their car after what they believe was a 'sophisticated' theft operation which may have involved a flat-bed lorry. However, she added: 'But it does make me wonder whether we should have had to do that. And not whether it's normal, but whether it's right that the police seem to have no interest in investigating. 'If there are no consequences, what is the incentive for people not to do more of this?' She said there was 'little incentive for thieves not to carry on doing what they are doing' without enforcement of the law. 'There are far worse things happening. And without better resourcing, we are all in a really difficult situation. And with this economy better resourcing isn't obvious,' she said. Ms Forbes Pirie said she understood the force was overwhelmed, but criticised it for not telling them to keep the car untouched for a forensic examination. 'Since we've found it, lots of people have touched the car and the police say that they're going to look underneath the carpets and at the fuse box to see if there are prints there,' she told the newspaper. 'But it wouldn't have cost very much for them to tell us not to touch anything. That's the one criticism I have. '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 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.'
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Couple are forced to steal back their own car after police refuse to investigate despite AirTag pinpointing its EXACT location
A couple whose Jaguar was stolen were forced to steal it back after police took too long to investigate. Mia Forbes Pirie and Mark Simpson discovered their car had gone missing from near their west London home in Brook Green on Wednesday morning. The pair had it fitted with an airtag locator meaning they were able to track the vehicle to an updated location in Chiswick at 10.30am. But police informed them after dialling 999 that they did not know when they would be able to investigate and so could not offer immediate assistance. The couple took matters into their own hands when Ms Pirie, 48, discovered the airtag had last pinged on the road outside their home at around 3.20am. The Jaguar E-Pace - a model that sold for about £46,000 new in 2024 - also had a 'ghost immobiliser' fitted which required the right buttons to be hit on the car's control unit before it could start. Mr Simpson, 62, reported being nervous as he made the four-mile journey with his wife to the car's new location. The pair discovered the vehicle on a quiet back street with its interior and carpets ripped apart by thieves who had attempted to access its wiring. Forbes Pirie, a former solicitor and now an award-winning mediator, and Mr Simpson, a commercial barrister, had installed a series of additional security mechanisms on the car after previously experiencing the theft of a vehicle. They said they thought the theft operation on their Jaguar must have been 'reasonably sophisticated' and likely involved a tow or flat-bed truck. Neighbours later reported they had heard unusual noises at night. In a post to LinkedIn, Ms Forbes Pirie admitted 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?' But speaking to The Times afterwards Ms Forbes Pirie said she thought it was a lack of resourcing that had affected the Met's ability to respond. 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 offences of 'theft or unauthorised taking' of a motor vehicle in London in 2024 - a 1.6 per cent increase on the previous year. There were 326 'positive outcomes - which can include a charge or caution - representing a success rate of below one per cent.
