“There are three or four vehicles that I know of that were targeted. I think it’s like how there used to be the catalytic converter thefts, but instead of that it’s the infotainment system as it’s worth quite a lot of money”
The owner of a vehicle recovery business has shared his concerns after multiple people had their cars damaged during a football match. On Wednesday, January 11, Nottingham Forest played Wolverhampton Wanderers at the City Ground, but whilst the teams were playing a number of spectators had their cars damaged on Victoria Embankment, near The Meadows.
Owner of M1 Recoveries, Ufaan Hussain, has spoken out about the incidents after he was called to recover a car and saw that at least another three vehicles had also been targeted, all of which were Volkswagen GTIs and GTDs. He said: “Basically I have a car towing service in Nottingham, where people call me if they have broken down or what not, and a gentleman called me around 11pm at night and said someone broke into his vehicle.
“They had nicked his digital dash and they have taken his infotainment system. When I got there I realised that a lot of people who were at the forest game at the time with that car, they were targeted.
“There are three or four vehicles that I know of that were targeted. I think it’s like how there used to be the catalytic converter thefts, but instead of that it’s the infotainment system as it’s worth quite a lot of money.”
The front windows had been smashed in the cars to allow the thieves access to the dashboard and infotainment inside, which they then removed. Ufaan added: “I hadn’t heard of anything like this, but I have been speaking to a couple of mechanics that I do work with and apparently people have been targeted in Derby as well, so it is something new happening.
“When the Forest game is on they know a lot of people have gone, so in-between that 90 minutes they know no one is going to be there, so that’s why I think they’re doing it, as there were about four vehicles at the time that were hit. They probably make as much money as they would with the catalytic converters.”
PC Jo Homan-Williams, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We are currently investigating three separate incidents in which cars were broken into while parked in Victoria Embankment, The Meadows. The windows of all three cars were smashed to gain access, with thieves then stealing electrical equipment from inside.