Dramatic moment have-a-go hero grabs wooden pole from neighbour to fend off hooded crooks trying to steal his car
A QUICK-thinking man grabbed a wooden pole and started swinging it in an attempt to fend off hooded crooks trying to steal his car.
The dramatic moment, which is said to have unfolded in Walthamstow, east London this week, was caught on CCTV.
In the clip, the man can be seen leaning into his car’s passenger door, when two yobs dressed in black swarm him.
One of them then jumps into the hatchback and the second rushes around to the driver’s side.
The crook then rushes back to the man, grabs his phone and hurls it at the ground – before leaping back into the car.
The man appears confused before jogging to his neighbours‘ house, banging on their door and yelling: “Help.”
One of the yobs then gets out of the car as the man continues loudly screaming for help.
The man then grabs a wooden stick and starts waving it around at the crooks, who are then both standing on the pavement.
He continues yelling for help, and tells his neighbour to call 999.
It’s then that the video cuts off.
The Sun has approached the Met Police for comment.
In recent weeks the UK’s car theft hotspots have been revealed.
Data from the DVLA shows that thefts have soared, reaching an all-time high in 2023.
Experts from CarMats have now ranked the areas of England and Wales that saw the highest theft rates that year.
The West Midlands was the worst region overall, with five of the top ten falling within its boundaries.
Two of the UK’s biggest cities – Manchester and Birmingham – were also represented though London was not as it was broken down into boroughs.
Perhaps surprisingly, only one area of the capital made the list, that being Ilford in the city’s east.
Based on the top 10, the far North and Wales performed the best, with no representation in the table, while the South West only appeared once – Bristol in 10th.
Slough, Berkshire took the number three spot, with a theft rate of 0.36%.
It was narrowly beaten out by Birmingham, with its rate of 0.37%.
Top spot was then claimed by a distance by nearby Solihull, which clocked in at 0.45%.
What to do if your vehicle has been stolen:
Report your vehicle as stolen
Gov.uk says tell the police and your insurance company straight away if your vehicle has been stolen.
Call your local police station
Dial 101 and ask to be put through to your local police.
Make sure you have your vehicle’s:
- registration number
- make and model
- colour
You’ll get a crime reference number. You’ll need this when you call your insurance company.
The police will tell DVLA about the theft and if the vehicle is found.
Call your insurance company
Your insurance company will tell you how to make an insurance claim.
Tell DVLA if your insurance company pays out
If your insurance company pays out a claim for your stolen vehicle, you must tell DVLA it’s been sold to the insurance company.
If your vehicle had a personalised registration number that you want to keep, you need to get it back before you tell DVLA that you no longer own your vehicle.
You can tell DVLA online or fill in the yellow ‘sell, transfer or part-exchange your vehicle to the motor trade’ section of your vehicle log book. Send the perforated section to DVLA, with a letter saying when the payment was accepted and details of your insurance company.
You’ll need to give the remaining part of your log book to your insurance company.
If your insurance company asks for the whole log book then you’ll need to send a letter to DVLA including:
- the details of your insurance company
- the date of the claim
- your registration number
- the make, model and colour of your vehicle
- your signature
Send your letter to:
DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1BD