Thursday 13th February 2003
What an incredible coincidence! A man in Buckinghamshire who recently had two of his cars stolen happens to be the director of a vehicle tracking company. Isn't that amazing?
A gang of car thieves apparently broke into Simon Allen’s home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire while he was with his partner Susan who was giving birth to their first child. The thieves grabbed the keys to his £60,000 Mercedes CL500 and made off with it.
Simon’s car was fitted with the i-mob interactive vehicle security system (launched in the UK just 4 months ago) and as soon as the car was moved it sent an alert call to his colleague and fellow company director Michael Noble.
Michael immediately used his computer to track the Mercedes as it travelled at 135mph up the M40 motorway towards London. He notified the police of the theft and the car’s specific location and was able to immobilise the vehicle remotely from his office.
For safety reasons, i-mob will not allow a vehicle to immediately stop but once the car slowed and parked in a lay-by in Denham it was rendered immobile with the hazard lights flashing and the thieves fled. The vehicle was then recovered within half an hour.
Simon, unaware of all the drama, returned home in his Range Rover (value £55,000), only to be ambushed by other members of the gang. They used the spare keys to drive away his second vehicle.
This time Simon immobilised the car and contacted the police with its precise location. The car slowed to a halt at a junction just two miles from his home and was rendered immobile, while the thieves again fled. Both cars were recovered undamaged within just minutes of their theft.
Simon said: "It was absolutely extraordinary – to have our home broken into while Susan was in labour was frankly awful. But for them to take the keys and steal the car outside and then to lay in wait for me to return with the other car and to take it too was quite a shock. "
"But they picked on the wrong cars! I am utterly delighted that the system is proven to work – and now other people can see that it does as well. The police have been enormously co-operative and delighted to see how the system works so quickly. It would have been extremely difficult to be left with no car at a time when I needed to get back to the hospital and see Susan and the baby. At the end of the day it has all turned out OK. I have recovered both my cars undamaged and of course best of all, have a beautiful new baby son."
Michael Noble adds: "This is the very first instance recorded by the Police of a vehicle having been fitted with the i-mob system being stolen in the UK. And we are thrilled that it worked so effectively with both cars being recovered very quickly."
Link: www.i-mob.co.uk
Uncanny
Director of new vehicle tracking company has two cars stolen
What an incredible coincidence! A man in Buckinghamshire who recently had two of his cars stolen happens to be the director of a vehicle tracking company. Isn't that amazing?
A gang of car thieves apparently broke into Simon Allen’s home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire while he was with his partner Susan who was giving birth to their first child. The thieves grabbed the keys to his £60,000 Mercedes CL500 and made off with it.
Simon’s car was fitted with the i-mob interactive vehicle security system (launched in the UK just 4 months ago) and as soon as the car was moved it sent an alert call to his colleague and fellow company director Michael Noble.
Michael immediately used his computer to track the Mercedes as it travelled at 135mph up the M40 motorway towards London. He notified the police of the theft and the car’s specific location and was able to immobilise the vehicle remotely from his office.
For safety reasons, i-mob will not allow a vehicle to immediately stop but once the car slowed and parked in a lay-by in Denham it was rendered immobile with the hazard lights flashing and the thieves fled. The vehicle was then recovered within half an hour.
Simon, unaware of all the drama, returned home in his Range Rover (value £55,000), only to be ambushed by other members of the gang. They used the spare keys to drive away his second vehicle.
This time Simon immobilised the car and contacted the police with its precise location. The car slowed to a halt at a junction just two miles from his home and was rendered immobile, while the thieves again fled. Both cars were recovered undamaged within just minutes of their theft.
Simon said: "It was absolutely extraordinary – to have our home broken into while Susan was in labour was frankly awful. But for them to take the keys and steal the car outside and then to lay in wait for me to return with the other car and to take it too was quite a shock. "
"But they picked on the wrong cars! I am utterly delighted that the system is proven to work – and now other people can see that it does as well. The police have been enormously co-operative and delighted to see how the system works so quickly. It would have been extremely difficult to be left with no car at a time when I needed to get back to the hospital and see Susan and the baby. At the end of the day it has all turned out OK. I have recovered both my cars undamaged and of course best of all, have a beautiful new baby son."
Michael Noble adds: "This is the very first instance recorded by the Police of a vehicle having been fitted with the i-mob system being stolen in the UK. And we are thrilled that it worked so effectively with both cars being recovered very quickly."
Link: www.i-mob.co.uk
Discussion
Mr E said:Immobilise the car, then lock the doors and pump in sleeping gas.
Easy collar for the BIB...
Copy the Russian theatres technique. Don't need the BiB then, just undertakers.
That story has all the authenticity of a casualty attendee saying 'I was only jumping over the coffee table, naked, and there was a fruit bowl...'
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