‘Cheeky’ thief caught on camera stealing tools from car in broad daylight
A “brazen” thief tried his luck in broad daylight to steal hundreds of pounds of tools from a car in broad daylight.
Landlord Sebastian Stephens had visited one of his properties on London Road in Canterbury on Friday afternoon (March 11), unaware of the confident thief nearby.
The 54-year-old had left his car to enter the property and returned five minutes later to find his tool bag missing.
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Mr Stephens told KentLive he was “shocked” watching the video footage.
He said: ‘I had literally left my car for five minutes, came back to get a tool and just thought ‘where’s my tool bag? Did I put it somewhere else?
“I was convinced that I pulled out my tool bag and put it somewhere I thought I was having a bit of a senior time.”
It wasn’t until Mr Stephens checked the CCTV cameras that he saw where his tool bag actually was.
Mr Stephens continued: “I was quite shocked to be honest with you, and shocked that it happened so quickly.
“I was working near one of the windows, if I had looked outside I would have seen it straight away but I never saw anything.
“It was like he was almost waiting for me to come in and took his opportunity.”
Video footage, at the top of this page, shows the man walking to the car, surveying the area before opening the door.
By accessing the chest, he searches well before leaving with a bag full of tools.
(Image: Sebastien Stephens)
Mr Stephens, who has been the owner for over 30 years, thinks it will cost him a few hundred pounds to replace all the items.
He continued: “It’s not really about the money, it’s more about the principle and how cheeky he was, even though he very kindly left my keys and a jet wash.
“No matter how insignificant it is, it’s wrong. You don’t walk into someone’s property and get into their car – get that man off the street, I say.”
Until this incident, Mr Stephen’s said he thought Canterbury was a “reasonably safe” city.
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The owner added: “I once left my car unlocked by mistake overnight and nothing was taken, I leave my car unlocked all the time when I’m here, because I’m always inside and out, but nothing like this has happened before.
“I guess that taught me not to be so confident, but that’s just human nature.”
Mr Stephens reported the incident to Kent Police and is still awaiting a response.
KentLive has contacted Kent Police for comment.
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