Burglary victim used Google Earth to track down and recover his stolen car
SWNS
2023-10-30
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A self-confessed petrol-head used Google Earth to track down and recover his prized £23,000 Seat after it was stolen from his home while he slept.
Shocked Jayy (c) Robinson, 23, woke up to find thieves had broken into his house and taken the keys to his sporty Seat and a Volkswagen Golf.
The devastated engineer posted details of the brazen theft on social media after being left "unimpressed" with the actions of police.
Jayy said: "I was due to go to work at 6am, went downstairs and both cars were gone, I was devastated".
However an eagle-eyed friend called Jamie, spotted someone trying to sell Jayy's Seat on a Snapchat story which included a blurry video of the car parked up.
Jamie began messaging the thief on Snapchat who was demanding £2,000 to return the vehicle and "gained their trust by being friendly to them."
Meanwhile tech savvy Jamie helped Jayy do a reverse image search of the building the car was parked next to and managed to triangulate the location after spotting the name of a housing estate on a wheelie bin.
The pair then used Google Earth to identify the exact street where the vehicle was parked before calling police.
After notifying police, Jayy was then able to recover the Seat which was found "parked up with no one around" in West Bromwich, just six miles away from his home in Birmingham.
Jay said: “I didn't know what to say when I saw it, I was amazed, I tried my keys and the car unlocked straight away so I knew it was mine.
“I didn't think they would be that stupid to leave the car in the same spot I at least thought it would be in a different place.”
But Jay was less than impressed with West Midlands Police.
He said: "I called them on Saturday afternoon for an update but they told me it hadn’t even been allocated yet.
"I then called them on Sunday and they said it was still pending allocation, I wouldn't have got the Seat back if I hadn't taken matters into my own hands."
Jayy's Volkswagen Golf, worth £16,000, has still yet to be found.
West Midlands Police said: "We received a call just after 6.30am on Friday (27 Oct) that two vehicles had been stolen overnight from Poole House Road, Great Barr. One of the vehicles has been recovered.
"Anyone with any information is asked to contact us via LiveChat on our website or call 101 quoting 20/936025/23."
Shocked Jayy (c) Robinson, 23, woke up to find thieves had broken into his house and taken the keys to his sporty Seat and a Volkswagen Golf.
The devastated engineer posted details of the brazen theft on social media after being left "unimpressed" with the actions of police.
Jayy said: "I was due to go to work at 6am, went downstairs and both cars were gone, I was devastated".
However an eagle-eyed friend called Jamie, spotted someone trying to sell Jayy's Seat on a Snapchat story which included a blurry video of the car parked up.
Jamie began messaging the thief on Snapchat who was demanding £2,000 to return the vehicle and "gained their trust by being friendly to them."
Meanwhile tech savvy Jamie helped Jayy do a reverse image search of the building the car was parked next to and managed to triangulate the location after spotting the name of a housing estate on a wheelie bin.
The pair then used Google Earth to identify the exact street where the vehicle was parked before calling police.
After notifying police, Jayy was then able to recover the Seat which was found "parked up with no one around" in West Bromwich, just six miles away from his home in Birmingham.
Jay said: “I didn't know what to say when I saw it, I was amazed, I tried my keys and the car unlocked straight away so I knew it was mine.
“I didn't think they would be that stupid to leave the car in the same spot I at least thought it would be in a different place.”
But Jay was less than impressed with West Midlands Police.
He said: "I called them on Saturday afternoon for an update but they told me it hadn’t even been allocated yet.
"I then called them on Sunday and they said it was still pending allocation, I wouldn't have got the Seat back if I hadn't taken matters into my own hands."
Jayy's Volkswagen Golf, worth £16,000, has still yet to be found.
West Midlands Police said: "We received a call just after 6.30am on Friday (27 Oct) that two vehicles had been stolen overnight from Poole House Road, Great Barr. One of the vehicles has been recovered.
"Anyone with any information is asked to contact us via LiveChat on our website or call 101 quoting 20/936025/23."
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