Leeds catalytic converter theft victim threatened with bar

Ali Fashakh said he confronted the men but backed down as he feared "one of them was about to strike me"

A gang of masked thieves threatened a man with a metal bar when they tried to steal the catalytic converter from his wife's car.

Ali Fashakh confronted the men outside his home in Gledhow, Leeds, but backed away as he feared "one of them was about to strike me".

He said it was the second time the vehicle had been targeted in a month.

Catalytic converter thefts have risen recently due to a spike in the value of precious metals, research shows.

Mr Fashakh said the first theft took place in March, when a neighbour chased three men away from his wife's Toyota Prius.

However, he said when he checked the next day the device had gone, adding: "I am not sure if they came back later that night when we were asleep."

He said it took two weeks to repair the damage and his wife lost her no-claims bonus.

The vehicle was targeted again on 21 April.

Police have issued images of three men wanted in connection with the incident in April

Mr Fashakh said he heard a noise and looked out of the window to see three men surrounding the car.

He said: "They all had iron rods in their hands, so I shouted at them [then] I ran downstairs and just confronted them.

"One of them was about to strike me, so I backed away at that point."

Mr Fashakh managed to film the men on his mobile phone and passed the footage to West Yorkshire Police, though no arrests have been made.

Last month, research by the RAC and insurer Ageas found three-in-10 thefts from private vehicles in the UK were of catalytic converters, up from two-in-10 before the pandemic.

The devices, which reduce the emission of pollutants, contain valuable metals such as platinum and rhodium and a rise in thefts usually follows an increase in the price of the metals.

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