Moment brazen thieves steal catalytic converter from car parked on owner’s driveway while he ate his dinner inside the house
- Two thieves rolled up outside a house in Hurley, north Warwickshire on Sunday
- The men jacked up a Vauxhall Astra on the driveway to steal part of the exhaust
- One of the men used an angle grinder to slice through
This is the shocking moment brazen thieves jack up a car parked outside its owner’s home and steals the catalytic converter in a five-minute daylight raid.
The car owner was inside his home in Hurley, North Warwickshire, eating his dinner but neither he nor other family members heard the thieves who struck at around 5.30pm on Sunday, March 7.
The victim’s daughter, who did not want to be named, said: ‘My mum and dad are pretty shaken up.
This is the moment a pair of thieves targeted a Vauxhall Astra sitting on a driveway in Hurley, North Warwickshire, to steal the car’s catalytic converter
The thieves jacked up the car before crawling under the vehicle and cutting off a section of the exhaust using a battery-powered angle grinder in the raid on Sunday, March 7
CCTV footage from a neighbour showed the men attacking the car for around five minutes
Thieves use an angle grinder or a reciprocating saw to slice through the exhaust in a matter of minutes to access the precious meals inside
‘People need to see how quick and cheeky they are to get it off. Nothing at all was heard.
‘We thought it was done in the middle of the night, it was only when I went round and asked the neighbour who has cameras on the front of their house that they found it was in broad daylight while my mum and dad were having their dinner.
‘My mum and dad’s drive is that steep, they were really lucky that the car either didn’t fall on them or roll into the garage door where my mum’s car was.
‘They have got to have targeted my dad’s car and watched to see when was best to get it off without being seen.’
According to the footage, the criminals took around five minutes to complete the theft and drive off.
Warwickshire Police confirmed: ‘We were called to a report of the theft of a catalytic converter from a car in Hurley.
‘The incident occurred sometime between 5.30pm on March 5 and 7.10am on March 8.
‘If anyone has information that could help police with our enquiries they should call 101 quoting incident 298 of March 8, 2021. ‘Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.’
Thefts of catalytic converters have risen recently as criminals sell the platinum inside to unscrupulous metal merchants.
There is approximately 5g of platinum inside an average catalytic converter while the scrap value of the metal is around £25 to £30 a gram.
Police have also provided tips to prevent thefts such as these including: