Massive increase in engine theft-video of thief included

[Nos4r2]

Straight copy from another forum.

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Massive Increase in Outboard Thefts |

Another spate of outboard thefts in areas of The Broads, Cambridgeshire and the non-tidal Thames have highlighted the need for boat owners to be ever more vigilant.

Most recently a number of boats have been broken into in the Wayford and Stalham areas of Norfolk leaving one boat owner with his vessel ‘on the bottom’ after theives left holes below the waterline after tearing it’s motor off.

These thefts come just a few weeks after a large amount of property was taken when a gang targetted vessels moored in Brundall. On that occasion the gang were thought to have been using a small boat to avoid detection.

However more worryingly a signifiacnt number of outboards have been systematically stolen from vessels moored on the non-tidal Thames. So far over 100, with a value estimated at between a quarter and half a million pounds, have been taken in a little over two months.

Many of the outboards have been taken from coaching boats at rowing clubs on the river. Among the victims are Oxford Colleges – Magdalen, St Peter’s, Pembroke, Hertford, and Keble. Others have been taken from sailing clubs and private moorings.

Vessels moored at Abingdon, Marlow, Eton and Windsor have also been frequently targetted. Four were taken from Radley College boathouse alone though none belonging to Radley itself.

Unfortunately, until now, the pattern of thefts had gone unnoticed as many of the thefts were reported to different police stations.

Andy Thomas, boatman at Radley said:”They seemed to know exactly what they were after. They drove across a field to get here and carefully avoided CCTV cameras.

“It appears to be organised gangs involved and police seem to think they are quickly shipped abroad.

“It is a problem and very upsetting for people. I know of one person who has been on the river for years but has had two taken from his motor boat. He has become very disillusioned and given up boating.”

Meanwhile in Cambridgshire, footage has been posted on the internet of a suspected group of thieves after an outboard was taken from a vessel moored at the Bedford Boat Club. The footage can be viewed by following the following link:

Link to captured video.

Anyone with any knowledge of who this may be are encouraged to contact Bedfordshire Police on 01234 841212.

Police have been unable to comment on any of the above incidents but cannot rule out the involvement of overseas based organisations.

In response to the latest thefts police do however offer the following advice:

Reduce the attractiveness of your outboard engine

Engine covers: Replacing the engine cowling with a specially designed waterproof cover can help. In effect what you are doing is devaluing the engine and so helping to deter possible theft.

If the engine is stolen, replacing the cowling is going to be costly for the thieves and will probably leave an evidence trail for the police.

The downside to the engine covers is that they can leave your engine more exposed to the elements than if the cowling were on, and removing the cowling can be tricky on some enines.

If you are not worried about resale then permanently marking or defacing the engine will help to make it less attractive to thieves.

Alternatively there is an electronic security identification system for watercraft Datatag ID Limited Personal Watercraft System

Try to use good quality padlocks or other devices – these will deter potential thieves more effectively than cheap models.

Please ask members to register their outboard motor motors, radar, radio and gps systems on Immobilise :: The National Property Register, for phones, gadgets, bikes & more...

Each of these parts has an unique number which you can register for free.

If you see anything at all suspicious then please contact the police immediately. If there is a crime in progress then dial 999 or to inform the police about suspicious incidents or report a crime dial the non-emergency number 101. Alternatively if you have information but wish to stay anonymous then call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

[simsy]

After having a quick flick through the stolen outboards website a few weeks ago I was shocked by the shear number of thiefts... it's a shame that people stoop so low every where...

[falcon0310]

glade i dont keep my boat on south coast recon your better in croydon or swindon knowone knows what boat is kind thing

[boristhebold]

100 engines in 2 months, thats some number, i guess no money to fund the police doimg patrols ? And as for checks on containers or vans crossing the channel would be too much.

Come to britain one and all,
Take what you want and have a ball,
And when your ready come on back,
We brits love this crap.

Bah humbug .....have i stirred it up ?

[whisper]

Sometimes we just need the wiLlfish to tell us about these things

[lightning]

Heavens above you'd have thought the Police would be staking out the area to catch these people, instead of staking out empty A roads to catch people doing 10mph over the speed limit.

[thomas]

Speeding kills, stollen engines are merely a pain in the arse - I would like to see the security at marinas that we pay for go and do some security rather though.

[cptsideways]

Conveniently near to Tilbury & its container port

[mister p]

Coastal Eastern Europe or bordering The Black Sea? Not Africa.

[JuniorRIBsters]

7 engines taken in last 5 days from the pwllheli, gwynedd area.

Unfortunately junior ribsters boat, j-rib was among those stolen. They disabled cctv, cut through the fence then used machinery to remove the engine leaving the vessel in awful condition, potentially a right off!!

If anyone has any information please contact the police immediately or info@jrib.co.uk

our engine was a yamaha f40 with less than 70 hours. 2 from abersoch have gone, 4 from nefyn and 1 from pwllheli. This happened within the last 24hours!!! Please be aware that they are probably still in the area!