AN attempted keyless car theft in Christchurch has been caught on camera.
A resident of River Way has shared ring doorbell footage of two hooded individuals on her driveway in the early hours of Monday, February 27.
She suspects the pair were trying to pick up signal from her car’s key fob in an attempted ‘keyless theft’.
This method sees criminals use a device to fool the car into thinking its own remote key fob is close by, therefore unlocking it and allowing the ignition to be started.
Fortunately, no access was gained to the car.
That same night, a vehicle was successfully stolen from a driveway less than half a mile away in Hurn Road.
Police officers investigating the incident believe the car may have since travelled to Kent.
The owner of the vehicle, Jon, told the Daily Echo: “We haven’t got any camera footage.
“We just woke up in the morning and the car wasn’t there anymore.
“I think my wife actually heard it being driven off the drive, but she just thought it was a neighbour. It was probably around 1am.”
While Jon doesn’t know how the criminals gained access to his car, he suspects it could be a keyless theft.
He said: “We reported it to police in the morning, they came round to speak to us because there’s an ongoing investigation into this as part of a bigger thing.
“We don’t know whether it was the same boys from River Way, or if there were other gang members around- police often say they come down in minibuses and scour the area.”
Dorset Police said both these incidents are being investigated, but no arrests have been made.
A spokesperson for the force said: “We received a report that between 11pm on Sunday, February 26, and 2am on Monday, February 27, a vehicle was stolen from an address in Hurn Road in Christchurch. Enquiries have indicated the car may have travelled to Kent.
“A further report was received that at around 12.40am on Monday, February 27, a man attempted to gain access to a vehicle in River Way in Christchurch. He did not gain access and nothing was stolen.”
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