Slough councillor threatened with iron bar outside home

A councillor has said she has been left "shaken" after she was threatened with an iron bar by thieves.

Slough councillor Madhuri Bedi told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was about to go out for a dog walk on 4 December when she disturbed a catalytic converter theft outside her home in Colnbrook.

Catalytic converters are devices fitted to vehicle exhausts to reduce the amount of dangerous gases emitted. They are often targeted by thieves as they contain valuable metals and can be removed in less than a minute.

Doorbell camera footage shows the moment Ms Bedi opened her door and a masked thief barged up to her with an iron bar, threatening her to "get back".

The Foxborough ward representative said she closed her door in time to prevent the man from entering her home.

A number of people can be seen in the footage appearing to jack up a car nearby, before running off.

Thames Valley Police said it was investigating but did not confirm whether a catalytic converter had been stolen during the incident.

Ms Bedi said the "horrific" incident had left her "extremely shaken".

She added: "Just the way they ran up, if it was an elderly person or if it was my son who opened the door, what would they have done?

"I don't know how I managed to close the door in time, but it was horrible. Even now, I'm still shaken up by it."

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