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2 | ClassiC Car Weekly | Wednesday 16 July 2012
NeWsClassic car crime isn’t new – stealing an old, poorly-protected motor has always been tempting for those looking for an easy joyride. But motives are changing. Theft is on the increase, as low-lifes now realise that there’s proper money to be made in improper activities involving our cherished cars.
We should all be concerned that there’s a continuing rise in the number of classics being stolen due to their poor security and sharply rising values – because our insurance premiums are likely to continue to rise as a result. As
PC Alan Coleman says (right), your best way of reducing the risk of your classic being stolen is to make sure it is properly protected in the first place.
After all, so few classic cars actually have alarms, immobilisers or trackers, that a criminal is going to be far more likely to take a risk with the E-type in your garage than the modern Audi A6 parked alongside it.Keith AdamsEditor
Welcome!n WeDNesDay 16 July 2014
‘Thieves are not stupid – classics are easy pickings’
Police officer’s plea to classic owners to stop surge in thefts continuing
One of Britain’s foremost car crime experts is appealing to owners to do all they can to protect their cars after a sharp rise in classic car thefts – especially of anything with a Ford RS badge,
There has been a clear rise of criminal interest in 1980s Fords, headed by the Ford Escort RS Turbo, 1600i and XR3 models. PC Alan Colman, an officer with the Central Motorway Police Group and the FBHVC’s spokesman on vehicle theft, has identified this growing trend. He’s a classic car enthusiast who owns a 1967 Mini Cooper S, has had a string of classic Fords, and has been working tirelessly to spread the word.
He said: ‘There has been a definite upsurge in the thefts of sporting Fords, with five in a two-week period, and three of those went missing in the Midlands. Rising classic car values and lack of security have created this situation.’
Colman has been tracking details of classic cars stolen across the country over the last 12 months, and has confirmed that the rise in the number of all classic cars being targeted by criminals is showing no sign of slowing down.
He said: ‘Thieves aren’t stupid – in a lot of cases they’re very organised and experienced criminal groups, and they realise that classic cars are easy pickings which have gone up hugely in value over the last few years.
‘If you were stealing a brand new BMW M3 or an Audi RS4 you’d have a job taking it and then moving on the parts. But classic cars are much easier to steal and there’s a healthy market for parts which are much harder to trace.’
It was frustrating, he said, to have so many cases where owners weren’t checking their cars regularly. He cited one case where it had been three years between it being last seen and being reported stolen, and others where hugely valuable cars had been left on driveways with next to no security.
A ‘significant proportion’ of the thefts involved cars being taken overnight while parked up, with organised criminal groups using recovery trucks with false telephone numbers and registration plates to deceive members of the public into thinking the thefts were genuine breakdown recoveries.
Another trend identified is that the rise in thefts is not being matched by a rise in insurance claims – as reported by CCW earlier this year – which indicates that the owners affected have not insured their classics sufficiently, if at all.
While the West Midlands is the worst-affected region, with London coming a close second, the rise in thefts is having an effect across the whole of the UK, and owners are being urged to take
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steps to secure their car. Neither the Home Office nor the Association of Chief Police Officers were willing to comment on the issue when contacted by CCW.
Alan Colman summed up: ‘So many victims of classic car crime are genuinely distraught when their cars are taking from them – it’s not something I would want to happen to anyone. That’s why I cannot stress enough that classic car owners need to take their security really seriously.’
CaN yOu helP fiND These ClassiCs? riNG 101 Or CriMesTOPPers ON 0800 555111
1970 Mk1 fOrD esCOrT TWiN CaMRegistration: YUA 234JStolen between 1530-1553hrs on Saturday 14 June 2014 from the car park of the Dog Inn, Harvington near Kidderminster.
1972 VW T2 WesTfaliaRegistration: UEY 515TStolen from Bromley, South East London, on 14 May. Cab headliner is recognisable as it’s covered in Tintin pictures.
1969 MerCeDes 280sl PaGODaRegistration: FWB 743HTaken from Hamilton Grange, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. CCTV shows it being taken by a man and a woman. Reward offered.
1978 leylaND MiNi PiCkuPRegistration: WMO 153TStolen from a garage in Newbury, Berkshire on 8 June. The car had flat tyres, so police suspect a car transporter was used.
1960 fOrD ThaMes CaMPerVaNRegistration: VUN 893Stolen from Queens Road, Whitstable in March. Cream coloured Ford last seen on 12 March.
1967 WOlseley 16/60Registration: PPD 665EStolen from a pensioner’s home in Shirley, Southampton after a burglar distracted the owner before stealing the keys.
1991 laND rOVer DefeNDer 90Registration: H453 TWYStolen from Handcross, West Sussex, in May. This Defender has a chequerplate missing from the bumper.
1985 fOrD esCOrT rs TurBORegistration: C338 XDHWhite Series 1, stolen from Hill Top, West Bromwich on 29 June. Image not available.?
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Wednesday 16 July 2014 | ClassiC Car Weekly | 3
Ford Escort Lady Diana’s Metro on showA 1980 Austin Mini Metro once owned by Princess Diana will make its first public appearance in 20 years at next week’s Festival of the Unexceptional. The ‘Courting Car’, as it was known in the press, was a gift from Prince Charles and will be the poster child of the show’s Concours de l’Ordinaire in Towcester, on 26 July. n http://tinyurl.com/nyn8ehs
Record club turnout for Silverstone Next week’s Silverstone Classic will hold 93 car clubs at this year’s event – the largest amount since the show’s inception in 1990. Check out next week’s edition for a full preview of the event, which takes place between 25-27 July.n www.silverstoneclassic.com
Are you CCW’s next features ed?There’s an exciting opportunity to join the CCW team as our new features editor. We’re looking for an experienced section editor or ambitious features writer to take the next step in their career. A love and understanding of classic cars – and deadlines – is vitally important. Drop us an email if you’re interested, or would like to know more.n [email protected]
Great Divide Range Rover recreated Land Rover is to auction off an exact replica it has created of the Range Rover used in a 1000 mile- expedition to cross the Great Divide – a demanding portion of the Continental Divide in Colorado – in 1989. After being used in a recreation of the original rally, it will be sold to raise funds for the Tread Lightly charity.n www.givingworks.ebay.com/tread-lightly
iN BriefClassiCs The Car ThieVes lOVe riGhT NOW
Prince Charles bought Diana this Metro as a courting present in 1980.
Winner of the auction CAN take part in 2014’s Great Divide Expedition.
‘Thieves are not stupid – classics are easy pickings’
Police officer’s plea to classic owners to stop surge in thefts continuing
Top tips to prevent your car being takenn Whether it’s in the garage, someone else’s barn or on the driveway, make sure you go out and check your car regularly. The time between last seeing your car and reporting it stolen can make a big difference to the police’s chances of getting it back.
n If you fit a tracking device to your classic, it improves the chances of the police finding it. PC Alan Colman says there’s an element of surprise in fitting even a simple system, because the systems are largely associated with newer luxury cars rather than classics – a thief won’t be expecting an older car to be protected.
n Think like a thief. How would you break into your classic? Answering that question – and finding ways to make it harder for thieves – will help you to protect your pride and joy.
n If your stolen classic is recovered, marking it with forensic tagging will help the police to reunite it with you. Thieves can easily remove identifying plates and marks, but systems like Select DNA are much harder to remove from your car.
n It sounds obvious, but make sure you’re properly insured, as plenty of thefts this year have involved project cars which weren’t covered because they were off the road. Be honest with your provider, too, to make sure you are compensated should the worst happen.
n It pays to take good pictures of your classic. If it’s stolen, the police can use it to publicise what happened in the media – including right here in CCW – but bear in mind that if it’s a grainy, low resolution picture, it may be unusable in print.
n It’s definitely a good idea to make sure your classic’s details are up to date. If your car is taken, it will help the police trace you more quickly, and avoid your car’s V5 registration document being assigned to someone it doesn’t belong to.
n If you fit an anti-theft device it will help to put potential thieves off. While experienced criminals can overcome even the more sophisticated devices, anything that can slow a thief down will increase the chances of him being spotted.
Got a news story? Call the CCW newsdesk on 01733 468847
The rear-wheel-drive Escort has long been a favourite with thieves, but the MkIII is catching up fast. There’s an increasing number of thefts of the MkIII
models, particularly the highly sought after XR and RS versions, which means the Escort has overtaken the Mini as Britain’s most frequently stolen classic.
MiniWhile a run of Mini thefts centred on the West Midlands appears to have abated, the Issigonis-penned baby is still a target for thieves. All
variants are popular with thieving scum, with the late Cooper versions
particularly vulnerable.
Volkswagen camper vanCurrently proving as popular with criminals as the Mini, with several
of them being stolen in the London area in particular.
Volkswagen BeetleWhile not as much of a target as its
boxier brother, the Beetle’s relative lack of security and a healthy market for parts means it is still a classic which provides easy
pickings for criminals.
Land Rover Older Land Rover models are being
caught up in a spate of thefts targeting the Defender, believed to be the work of organised criminal groups. The earlier 90/110 models and the Series III
are among the more vulnerable.
Rover P6A relatively new phenomenon picked up
by forces this year, with 12 being taken in different parts of the country. All the cars being stolen are V8-engined models, with
suggestions that the cars may be being stripped for parts.
Volkswagen Golf MkI/MkII
The Golf is proving less of a target than 12 months ago. Most thefts are of GTi versions, although there have been a few isolated cases of
lower-spec models being taken.
The spate of Mini thefts in the West Midlands appears to have abated, but BMC’s baby classic is still rich pickings for car thieves.
