TR6 Stolen

[TRTOM2498PI]

I am delighted, great news !!

 

Huge relief.

 

 

Cheers.

[marki]

Great news.

Nice to see a happy ending, just need to catch the bast*rds now.

Enjoy Mark.

[TR 2100]

Fan bloody tastic news.

 

All credit to the girl for realising what it was.

 

So, the old trick of leaving a stolen car parked up

somewhere nearby is ongoing.

 

Well worth remembering that, as well as the benefits

of circulating news as quickly and widely as possible.

 

AlanR

[Alec Pringle]

Excellent result, well done that man.

 

Cheers

 

Alec

[Mark69]

Excellent result, well done that man.

 

Cheers

 

Alec

well done that young girl

[Peter Cobbold]

Sounds like a professional theft. They leave a 'hot' car parked up under cover to be certain it does not have a radio tracker fitted. They would have been back after a few days to trailer it away, knowing it was not being tracked.

Peter

[Phil Kirk]

Great News ; it is good to hear a good news story for a change.

Happy TRing

 

Cheers Phil

[TR5tar]

Sounds like a professional theft. They leave a 'hot' car parked up under cover to be certain it does not have a radio tracker fitted. They would have been back after a few days to trailer it away, knowing it was not being tracked.

Peter

 

Hi Peter,

 

As a fellow member of the Vale of the White Horse group, I've been working with Philip over the last few days to spread details of the theft as far and as wide as possible online. We did wonder about whether the thief would park up the car to see if it was being tracked as you say, but as we looked at the details, it started to seem less likely that that was what was going on here. We both came to the conclusion that this was more likely an opportunist theft, as the car was taken from a private car park where nobody could have anticipated it being (rather than from Philip's home). What was also odd is that the car was driven away from where it was stolen to the outskirts of Oxford (where it was caught on a police camera at 5.45) and then driven back into Oxford where it was caught on camera again (at 7.15am - around 3 hours after being stolen) very close to where it was taken from. I'm no expert in the workings of the criminal mind , but to me that sounds like an opportunist thief/joy rider returning back to home ground, rather than a professional who had stolen the car to order. Although, the fact that he covered the car does suggest that he had future plans for it, but perhaps we'll never know. If it was a professional job, I'd have thought that the thief would drive the car out of Oxford a few miles into the countryside and parked it up for a day or two, and then got it onto a covered trailer and as far away as possible.

 

Whatever the case, I'm chuffed that Philip has his car back.

 

Cheers, Darren

Edited May 20, 2016 by TR5tar

[TR 2100]

What I don't understand is, if a car is parked up

for a few days to see if it has a tracker fitted, it

seems to be assumed that if the car is still there

a few days later, the thief will believeit's safe to

collect.

 

So why don't the police set a trap for whoever

comes back to collect the car?

 

AlanR

[Stevecross]

Alan

 

Lack of resources and minimal result at the courts if they do catch anyone

[TR5tar]

Hopefully none of us will ever need this information, but for anyone who is unlucky enough to have their TR stolen, this might prove useful.

Of course, the first thing to do is report the theft to the police, but be aware that they might not be that interested. On 13 May, when the car was stolen, Philip reported it and was assigned an officer to investigate. That officer then promptly went off duty, not to return until 18 May. Philip was told that this would not affect the "investigation", but he was not reassured. I think the key point here is that you don't let the police off the hook. Keep badgering them, two or three times a day, to ask what they are doing. Find out what information, if any, they have from cameras. If you are going to search the area your self, then it's useful to know where the car was last spotted and in which direction it was headed.

Contact your local TRR group for help as soon as possible. Once we became aware of the theft and recognised Philip as a Vale of the White Horse member, we got together to look at ways in which we could highlight the theft to as many people as possible. What we then did was to post the news to all the Triumph and classic car Facebook pages as we could think of and ask our TR friends to share the information. We also mailed our members circulation list with details of the car and the theft, and asked the group leaders of surrounding groups if they would do the same. It was also highlighted on the TRR homepage. Triumph people spot Triumph cars, so our hope was that in telling members in and around Oxfordshire, one of them might have seen the car (or might see it).

Philip was very active in contacting local businesses (taxi companies, maintenance teams, traffic wardens, petrol stations, etc.), especially those that had staff working in the area early in the morning when the car was taken. He even placed a picture of the car in the back window of an ice cream van. On top of that, Philip drove around the local area to look for the car. We looked at online maps of the area, to see if there was any waste land close by on which the car might have been abandoned.

 

Tell the local press, print and TV. When doing this it's useful to include the "human angle", rather than just the facts. Reporters want to make a good size story, so tell them about the car's sentimental value and lay it on thick.

 

If the theft had been a professional, planned one, then it's unlikely that any of the actions above would have helped much, but as explained in post #33, we had reached the conclusion that this was not a professional job and that the car was most probably still in Oxford. Having that thought led us to search out Oxford community Facebook pages, and it was after posting the details on one of these that the car was spotted, reported and found.

 

What I've learnt from this is the importance of being active. Tell as many people as you can about the theft, keep telling them, and don't give up.

 

Cheers, Darren

[philblanchard]

Dear All

The TR6 is indeed back, undamaged. I have been very lucky. Many thanks for all the messages of support and advice. The car was spotted by a girl who had seen an appeal on facebook, on a site identified by Darren from the Registers Vale of White Horse group as being worth a go along with the many many others that we used, so my big thanks to him. The girl noticed a covered car tucked away behind some flats, a mile from where it was taken. She wasn't sure if it was mine, but spotted pink badge motifs on the wheel hubs (the only visible part of the car) which she thought had "TVR" displayed on them. So I rushed round, heart pounding, and there she was. Undamaged (hotwired though) but dirty. I don't think I have ever been happier in my life. I had scouted that area quite heavily, but missed this little recessed parking space, hidden until you were on top of it. The Police told me to wait with the car as they wanted to send a recovery team, but after an hour, they phoned again to say they didn't have anyone available till the next day. So I drove it home.

Some lessons (though I think I might be the only one needing to learn)

1. Don't think that because the car is a little tatty here and there that someone else won't still want to steal it.

2. Don't underestimate just how upset you, your family, and even your friends will be if a treasured car goes missing. I wasn't prepared for that. Buy the tracker and security that you had always thought about, but never got round to.

3. Don't rely on the Police to recover the car, and do complain immediately if they suggest they don't have the resources to help. That's the only way to get a senior officer to review the case. I am grateful for some ANPR hits (taken in the early hours of the morning before I realised the car had been taken), which did give me the feeling that the car was still around, but that was the limit of the police involvement - until I complained. In the event they played no part in the cars recovery in the 7 days after I reported it missing. I don't seek to criticise them, doubtless they are underfunded and undermanned. But you need to be aware of that.

4. Use social media as quickly and as widely as you can to get the message out there. The TRR and all the Triumph clubs were great as well, informing members country and europe-wide. Also try local taxi companies, local council maintenance teams, estate agents, parcel delivery firms, traffic wardens and the like. Everyone, it seems, loves an old car, and they were so helpful and positive. It will keep you going just when you think it's a hopeless task.

So a happy ending. I feel very sad for anyone who has gone through this without one.

Philip

(Thats me finding the car!)

Edited May 20, 2016 by philblanchard

[roy53]

In response to Alan

A friend in this situation was persuaded to leave his car where found in a pub car park tucked round the back to catch who ever returned to it [ not a TR i must add ]4 days later wheels and bits removed then torched .Did the the right thing by staying with it and driving home.Lucky man though.

 

ROY

[philblanchard]

Fantastic news so pleased for you! A reward for the girl who realised what it was?

Oh yes! I had put an undisclosed reward as being available for information. She didn't ask for it, but I insisted and was delighted to meet her and her young daughter, who thought it was a great adventure, with Mum as the hero. Wonderful end to a horrid week!

[philblanchard]

In response to Alan

A friend in this situation was persuaded to leave his car where found in a pub car park tucked round the back to catch who ever returned to it [ not a TR i must add ]4 days later wheels and bits removed then torched .Did the the right thing by staying with it and driving home.Lucky man though.

 

ROY

I could have waited longer, but you just don't know who (or how many!) might turn up and what state they will be in. I just wanted the car back in the end. Should have put a shopping trolley under the cover in it's place though. Or a lion maybe....

[philblanchard]

Sorry I was late on my reply and not looking up to the end of the messages, nevertheless great new...

Many thanks

[RobinTR6]

Outstanding what a great result. Doesnt sound like a joy rider nor pro ready to export to Europe tho. But all the same well done and look after her, both the finder and the car.

[philblanchard]

So pleased your car is back

 

ATB Graham

thanks

[Dave Burgess]

Glad this turned out a happy ending.

Can we assume that if the police have insufficient resources to catch these criminals they also have insufficient resources to administer appropriate punishment when they are caught, this is something I for one would be more than willing to help with.

 

Dave B

[Alec Pringle]

Seconded, a good clog dancing practice session wouldn't go amiss . . . . . .

 

Cheers

 

Alec

[RogerH]

Hi Dave,

the law is there to keep law abiding citizens under control.

It has nothing to do with criminals - human rights and all that.

 

The police are so under resourced that they only have time to spend on 50 or 60 year old celebrity crimes.

 

Roger

[Alec Pringle]

My TR6 was stolen in Sussex back in 1979, the coppers found it abandoned the next day having been rallycrossed on a construction site.

 

Good chaps, most helpful with the insurance claim, the local station appreciated the bottle of excellent malt that landed on them.

 

Some months later I had a call from the police station. They'd caught a car thief red-handed, and in due course he'd owned-up to several other previous thefts - including my TR6.

 

The bobbies had remembered the bottle of excellent Scotch. Evidently the young tealeaf had somehow fallen under the station door mat whilst the sergeant was doing his keep fit skipping practice . . . . . hence the miscreant wouldn't be appearing in court for a few days, until he looked more presentable . . . . .

 

Somehow I still reckon that a bunch of cracked ribs probably had more influence on the young toerag than the court sentence.

 

Oh for old fashioned proper coppering.

 

Cheers

 

Alec

[TR5tar]

Evidently the young tealeaf had somehow fallen under the station door mat whilst the sergeant was doing his keep fit skipping practice . . . . . hence the miscreant wouldn't be appearing in court for a few days, until he looked more presentable . . . . .

Gene Hunt style . . .

 

[Marc R]

FYI and for all,

I am in charge of the Forum TCF (Triumph Club de France) and I shall check the opportunity to relay the information across France via clubs and regions/groups , forums (French Forum TCF, and also the dedicated one TR6 and TR5 passion...) and other social network (FB..) in case of stolen cars in UK.

I have already send an email to the TCF to brainstorm on the topic

So do not hesitate to PM me

 

Very happy for philblanchard, I lost a TR6 in the '80 after a full home made restoration.... and it was a hearth-braker

 

Regards

[SeanF]

Great news that it's back Phil. That's a great picture!

 

Sean