Car cannibal victim pays £100 a month to park on strangers’ cars after engine stripped three times

A victim of “car cannibalism” has told how his engine was stripped by reckless thieves on THREE occasions in Birmingham. The fed-up father-of-three is now paying up to £100 a month to park overnight in strangers’ driveways and go home because he thinks it’s safer.

Thieves twice targeted his Toyota Yaris as it was parked on the road outside his home in Harborne. They broke a window and took the lights, bumper and hood. The 50-year-old resident traded his car in for a Kia – but within a week it too was stripped.

Despite witnesses watching and reporting three people stripping the cars on the second and third occasions, West Midlands Police closed each of the cases within days. The father said he did not blame the officers as he acknowledged the force had to prioritize other crimes. But now he’s using an app to rent a space in his neighborhood’s driveways, hoping to avoid becoming a crime victim again.

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The force insisted it had investigated the offenses and that dedicated patrols had seen a “significant reduction” in car crime in Harborne. Toyotas and Vauxhalls are often targeted because their parts are notoriously easy to disassemble when so-called “car cannibals” disable the vehicles. They are then taken to chop shops in illegal garages, where the parts are either sold or used to repair other stolen vehicles.

Edgbaston MP Preet Gill spoke about the father’s shocking case in a parliamentary debate on crime in Birmingham last week. She said that in the last ten years vehicle thefts in England and Wales had risen by a third to more than 130,000. Home Office data on reported crime outcomes showed that only two per cent of recorded car thefts resulted in a suspect being charged or cited. A total of 76% of car thefts were not solved by the police last year.

The Harborne victim said repairs cost his insurer between £16,000 and £17,000 after the cannibals struck in December 2021, January 2023 and March 2023. His insurance premium tripled to around £1,700 a year.

The victim, who asked not to be named due to the nature of his job, told BirminghamLive: “I live on a road where people don’t have driveways. Everyone parks on the street. My car was a second hand Toyota Yaris. My eldest son learned to drive in it. It wasn’t a flash car at all. I assumed that no one would be interested in taking parts out of it, but it turns out that these cars are the most popular.

“The same stripping happened to me again about a year later. This time there was a witness. She tried to call the police while it was happening. The police said that since no one was in danger, they couldn’t come. It was frustrating in the area because it was happening more and more.

“I got some advice from a neighborhood watch group which was very supportive and the police passed on advice about changing the car by getting a different make. Things to make undressing less attractive. The car wasn’t stolen, but the parts were Then I took the Kia for a week and the new car was horrified.

“The third time was again a witness. He was also ready to go on the record. He went out into the street and scared them. They ran away without taking all the pieces (photo). They left some parts on the third time, but the police he closed the file and said nothing could be done. At that time, in the area, I understood that 30 cars were stripped, three of them in about 12 months.”

The father now uses an app called “parkonmydrive.com” where residents rent out space on their drives. He said he has used the facility for the past year and has remained crime-free. “It took a massive toll on my mental health, especially the third time around,” he said. “I had to rent expensive cars. I don’t feel safe parking my car on the street as it happened three times.

“I rent a car space now so I don’t have to park outside my house. It costs me between £30 and £100 a month. Parking is in the area – usually a five to ten minute walk home.

“It doesn’t bother me. Even now the thought of parking outside wreaks havoc on my mental health. I wouldn’t sleep. I need a car for work and life. I’d wake up thinking it’s happened again. I’m parking. on someone’s road, I’m prepared to pay for it and see it as part of the cost of owning a car, i don’t mind less likely to happen on a unit with cameras and lights.

“There is a tendency in the area to blame the police and I can understand why. But when I calmed down and got my head around it, I think it’s unfair to blame the police.

“They are very limited in resources. I see that what is happening is a priority process. I can see why they prioritize crime against a person over crime against property. I think I’m doing my best. I would prefer if they are under resourced they deal with crimes against the person despite the fact that I am significantly affected by it.”

A police spokeswoman told BirminghamLive: “We are investigating and no suspects have been identified at this stage, but we would appeal for anyone with information to contact us via LiveChat on our website or by calling 101 quoting of crimes 20/1934428/21, 20/124837/23 or 20/230720/23 Alternatively, information can be passed to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

“We do not underestimate the impact this crime has on people’s lives and we are working hard to bring offenders to justice and to have a specialist vehicle crime taskforce which is dedicated to reducing vehicle crime. As part of Op Grex we have dedicated patrols focusing on our vehicle crime hotspots This has seen considerable reductions in Harborne this month.

“Targeted operations are regularly carried out against car thieves, in addition to talking to manufacturers about car security. Patrols have been intensified in problem areas and we are working closely with partner organizations.”

Edgbaston MP Ms Gill told BirminghamLive: “It’s the human impact of these crimes and people feel that once you’re the victim of a crime, not only are you not going to get justice, you’re not even going to get a police officer to he comes back. standing up and taking a statement and trying to prosecute the alleged perpetrators of that crime.

“People are witnessing crimes happening in real time and calling the police and saying ‘we’re going to record the incident’ or saying they’re ‘way too busy.’ Communities are taking the initiative to report crime – where are the eyes and ears of the police?

“Back when there was neighborhood policing and you saw your local officer drunk, you could share that information so they could build that image. Nowadays people call and nothing gets done. If they are victims, they are given a reference number and told to go to their insurer. It’s like we’re sending the wrong message to those who commit crimes, that you’ll get away with it because the police are under-resourced to attend certain crimes.

“Police say they take car cannibalism seriously. I know it’s organized crime. But this is a fundamental resource in a region where we are still down to 800 police. What will be deprioritized to prioritize another crime? Here.”

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