'I stole my car back after police could not help'

An Apple AirTag helped the couple locate their stolen car in Chiswick

A west London couple said they tracked down and reclaimed their stolen Jaguar after police were "too stretched" to help.

Mia Forbes Pirie and husband Mark Simpson discovered the theft from outside their home in Brook Green, Hammersmith, on the morning of Tuesday, 3 June.

They reported the theft to police, explaining that an Apple AirTag had been left in the car. But after receiving what they described as a "vague" response, they used the tracker to locate the vehicle in Chiswick - and retrieved it themselves.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed the couple had informed officers of their intention to recover the car and were advised to contact police again if assistance was needed at the scene.

Ms Forbes Pirie said: "I went to use the car that morning, walking up and down the street and I was unable to find it, with my husband saying he hadn't moved it.

"I thought it was weird, we both thought it was unlikely it was stolen because it had two immobilisers and so I was quite shocked and my stomach dropped."

'Bit of an adventure'

As well as having an immobiliser fitted, which means the Jaguar E-Pace would not start without the correct PIN code, it also had an AirTag inside.

The couple dialled 999 to report the theft. Ms Forbes Pirie said the police were "vague" and told them they might send a patrol car and would inform them if they found anything.

Ms Forbes Pirie said they told the police they had the tracker and could trace the car's location - explaining that it was only a nine minute drive away, in Chiswick.

"I wanted to act quite quickly as my fear was that we would find the AirTag and not the car when it was discarded on to the street without the car, so I told them that we were planning to head to the location," she said.

"It felt like a bit of an adventure, it was exciting, a little bit of a fun thing to do, to see if we could find our car.

"I didn't really think car thieves would hurt us, more that they would try to get away."

The Jaguar E-Pace cost around £46,000

She said they were "relieved" to find the car where the AirTag had led them - in a parking space on a street in Chiswick.

However, the immobiliser code did not work, so they had to contact the software company to retrieve the vehicle.

After showing proof of ownership of the £46,000 car, the company came to the location and unlocked the vehicle for them.

Speaking of the thieves, Ms Forbes Pirie said: "I think they wanted just to take the car somewhere quiet. The thieves appeared to be quite sophisticated.

"They had managed to bypass the immobiliser that came with the car, but not the one that we had fitted.

"We were told they did quite a good job and got quite close.

"I think I thought the police would act quicker considering they had a location for it, but I know they also very stretched."

Met figures show there were 33,530 offences of "theft or unauthorised taking" of a motor vehicle in the capital in 2024, a 1.6% increase on the year before.

There were only 326 "positive outcomes", which can include a charge or caution, from those cases, representing a success rate of lower than 1%.

A Met Police spokesperson said the couple confirmed with police that they had found the vehicle and that it was being recovered by a truck back to the victim's home address.

"This investigation is ongoing and officers met the victim on Tuesday, 10 June as part of their inquiries," the spokesperson added.