Latest news with #MiaForbesPirie
Metro
5 hours ago
- Metro
Couple find their stolen car and take it back from thief after getting fed up
A couple whose car was stolen say they tracked it down and took it back after getting fed up with the police. Mia Forbes Pirie and Mark Simpson, from Brook Green, west London, realised their Jaguar E-Pace SUV was missing from its parking spot near their home last Tuesday. The car was fitted with a tracking device, which pinged later that morning at a location a few miles away in Chiswick. They called 999 but were informed that officers could not look into it for the time being and didn't know when they'd be able to, The Times reports. After suggesting they could find it themselves, they were told to call 101 if they succeeded – and only to ring 999 if 'police assistance was necessary at the vehicle's location'. Just over 50 minutes after their tracker pinged, they found the car – with its interior and carpets torn up by the thieves in an attempt to access its wiring – and hired a lorry to carry it back to their home. 'I have to confess … it was kind of fun stealing back our own car,' Ms Forbes Pirie said in a LinkedIn post . '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 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?' Police reportedly contacted the couple but have not sent a forensics team to look at the car nearly a week after the theft. Ms Forbes Pirie added: '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. 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 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.' The Metropolitan Police said: 'On Tuesday, 3 June at 10:06hrs, police were alerted to the theft of a vehicle on Sterndale Road, W14. More Trending 'Officers spoke to the victim, who shared his intention to recover the vehicle himself. An Apple Airtag was inside, allowing the victim to view its location and trace it. 'The victim was reminded by officers to contact police again as needed or if police assistance was necessary at the vehicle's location. 'At 11:23hrs the victim confirmed with police that he had found the vehicle and that it was being recovered by a truck back to the victim's home address. 'This investigation is ongoing and police are working with the victim. No arrests have been made at this stage.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Boy's alleged killer 'was flat Earth conspiracy theorist inspired by Elon Musk' MORE: Bungling ram raider used shopping basket to make off with loot after bag broke MORE: Two dead after gunman opens fire outside Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Couple ‘steal back' their own car after police didn't know when they could investigate
A couple said they were forced to 'steal back' their own car after being told by police they did not know when they would be able to investigate the matter. Mia Forbes Pirie, 48, and Mark Simpson, 62, took matters into their own hands after their Jaguar was stolen from near their home in Brook Green, west London. The car contained an Apple airtag, which allowed the couple to track its location to just a few miles away in Chiswick. They called 999 to report the theft, but the Metropolitan Police could not say when they would be able to investigate the matter, according to The Times. Instead, the couple suggested they could find the vehicle themselves and were told to call 101 if they found it. 'I have to confess … it was kind of fun stealing back our own car,' Ms Forbes Pirie said in a LinkedIn post . '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 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?' The couple said that they first noticed the car had gone missing on last week, with the airtag last locating it to their road at around 3:20am. It later pinged from Chiswick at 10:30am, where they later found the car with its interior and carpets ripped out as thieves tried to get to its wiring. According to the paper, the police got in touch after they recovered the car but a forensics team has yet to assess the car. Ms Forbes Pirie said: '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. 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 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.' The Metropolitan Police said: 'On Tuesday, 3 June at 10:06hrs, police were alerted to the theft of a vehicle on Sterndale Road, W14. 'Officers spoke to the victim, who shared his intention to recover the vehicle himself. An Apple Airtag was inside, allowing the victim to view its location and trace it. 'The victim was reminded by officers to contact police again as needed or if police assistance was necessary at the vehicle's location. 'At 11:23hrs the victim confirmed with police that he had found the vehicle and that it was being recovered by a truck back to the victim's home address. 'This investigation is ongoing and police are working with the victim. No arrests have been made at this stage.' Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting CAD 2311/03JUN.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
'We got our stolen car back ourselves because police are too stretched to help'
A couple who "stole back" their car after it was taken by thieves have said they have "huge sympathy" for overstretched police. Mia Forbes Pirie, 48, and her husband Mark Simpson, 62, had their Jaguar stolen from outside their home in Brook Green, west London. An AirTag locator placed in their car last pinged on their road early last Wednesday morning, but after they noticed it was gone it later updated to a location about three miles away in Chiswick. Their Jaguar E-Pace was fitted with a ghost immobiliser - which requires a pin code - meaning they believe their vehicle was moved using a flat bed truck. They called police, who said they would send a patrol car to the location in Chiswick, but the couple didn't know how long that would take so decided to go themselves as it was only a nine-minute drive. They found the car on a back street, and the thieves had ripped out its interior and carpets in an effort to access its wiring so they could drive it. Pirie, a mediator, and Simpson, a barrister, had installed the extra security on their car after having a previous vehicle stolen. Pirie posted an image of the recovered vehicle on LinkedIn and said: "I have to confess... it was kind of fun stealing back our own car." She told Yahoo News on Monday she was "excited" to find the car as she had worried the AirTag on a keyring had been found by the thieves and discarded. Asked about retrieving the vehicle themselves, she said: "People seem to think it's fun or brave. I don't really think it's brave." She said the Metropolitan Police did not refuse to help but "were just a bit slow and we didn't know how long it would take". Asked about the response from the force, she said: "Given how stretched they are. I think it was okay. They were nice and polite. Obviously, in an ideal world they would have acted quicker. "But we both have huge sympathy with how stretched the police are on such low resources. We realise that they have to focus their limited resources on more serious crimes. "Obviously, there are really difficult decisions they have to make as to how they use the limited resources they have. I think on the whole they do a good job with very restricted resources." Pirie said the force told her they will send officers to their home on Tuesday to investigate further. Yahoo News has approached the Metropolitan Police for comment. The RAC advises that owners should always double check their car is actually locked even after using the key fob. This is because some thieves use signal jammers to intercept the signal between the fob and the car, leaving it unlocked, meaning a quick check of the doors is useful. A key fob box in the home, in which the keys are placed, will also deter a "relay attack", where criminals use a device to transfer a signal to a second box placed alongside the car, tricking the vehicle into perceiving the key to be there and unlocking it. But the signal cannot pass through metal, so placing the keys inside a fob box or a signal blocking wallet will stop the thieves. The RAC says motorists should park in well-lit areas that are covered by CCTV and should not display any belongings in the vehicle. It says most modern vehicles come with an immobiliser but that these should be fitted to older cars. Almost four out of five car thefts are unsolved, according to Home Office data published by the Liberal Democrats at the beginning of this year. It found that 24,837 car thefts in the three months up to June 2024 did not result in criminals being brought to justice. The area with the worst record was London, with the Metropolitan Police saying that 90% of all reported car thefts went unsolved, followed by South Yorkshire with 85%. Across England and Wales, only 2.8% of car theft cases result in someone being charged or summonsed.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
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.' The Metropolitan Police was contacted for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
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.'
