Finance worker's Rolex stolen as he ate at restaurant

The theft took place at the outdoor terrace of the restaurant in Elystan Place

A man whose luxury watch was stolen from his wrist while he ate at a central London restaurant says he wants to "leave the country" after an "appalling failure" by the Metropolitan Police to convict those responsible.

Luca, who works in the finance industry and did not want to give his full name, said his Rolex watch was stolen off his wrist by three men while he was having dinner at a Chelsea restaurant in September last year.

He chased the suspects down the King's Road and caught one of the men, but says the Met Police was unable to gather CCTV footage of the crime and suggested that he drop the case over potential threats to his safety.

A Met Police spokesperson said the force was "sorry" to hear the victim felt let down and remained "regretful that we were not able to achieve justice in this case".

'One millisecond'

Luca said that in June an officer suggested he should drop the case because, if it went to court, the suspect would learn his identity and could therefore endanger his life due to "potential retaliation".

He says he was also told that if he pursued the case, the suspect would likely receive only "a few hours of community service" as a court sentence.

Luca said there had been a "complete failure of the system" to catch those responsible for the crime, adding the Met Police could "do better".

The finance professional said the theft took place in the restaurant's "outdoor terrace" on Elystan Place at about 19:30 BST.

"Three people approached me," he said. "In one millisecond the watch was gone."

Luca says there was a "complete failure of the system"

Luca said he chased the suspects for about a mile, pursuing them down the King's Road and detaining one of them as he jumped onto a bus.

That suspect was then arrested by the Met Police and released on bail the same night, Luca said.

He said the suspect failed to return for an interview and "vanished".

The finance professional added the Met Police failed to secure CCTV footage from the restaurant and other public areas from the night of the theft, and told him this was due to "capacity and understaffing constraints".

He said he had “completely lost faith in the UK's police and justice system” and was planning on moving out of the UK as a result of the way the incident had been treated by the force.

'Awful crime'

A Met Police spokesperson called robbery an "an awful crime" that had "a lasting impact on victims".

"A senior member of the robbery team has spoken with the victim and explained that we have reviewed the case and where we have found areas of learning," they said.

"We are grateful that he gave us his time to speak about the issues raised but remain regretful that we were not able to achieve justice in this case."

The Met added there had been a number of issues resulting in CCTV not being secured and this fell below the standards that victims of crime should expect.

The force added Luca was not given enough clear communication about the way the criminal justice system worked, and apologised for this.

It said a senior officer from the robbery squad had since spoken to Luca about how the force could improve communication in the future.

The Met added that uniformed and plain-clothed officers proactively patrolled robbery "hotspots" to prevent them from happening.

It added Londoners wearing a high-value watch were urged to remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings.