Queensway: Call for CCTV to deter pickpockets who target tourists and mums

More CCTV is needed on Queensway, a local councillor has said

More CCTV is needed on a busy west London street to deter thieves, a councillor has said after she narrowly avoided being pickpocketed herself.

Laila Cunningham, of Westminster City Council, called on the Metropolitan Police to step up patrols in Queensway.

Ms Cunningham said businesses, tourists and mums with their children were being targeted by a group of pickpockets, adding: "The community wants answers."

The force has said it is aware of the issue in this area of the city.

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Tesco Express duty manager Ala Remiszewsky said thieves operate during busy times of day.

"Every single day someone comes in saying their phone has been stolen," she said.

Iryna, 21, is a manager at the Bayswater Arms pub and said she sees the group, which she claims operates "like a family", almost daily. 

She claimed they often come in asking to use the toilet and walk by customers, before items are stolen from customers.

Iryna recalled seeing one thief lean back on a chair to grab a woman's belongings and says customers have lost passports, wallets, phones and sometimes entire bags.

Callum Kirwin, 21, a supervisor at the Prince Alfred said thefts take place "every single day"

He said pickpockets operate in pairs with one distracting the victim by showing them what looks like a menu, then another grabbing the victim's mobile phone from the table.

Ala Remiszewsky says people are being targeted on a daily basis

Mrs Cunningham said she was confronted by a pickpocket last week who she claimed had targeted a female tourist.

She said she recorded the man, who then became aggressive.

The councillor who has six children said she was also targeted in Westbourne Grove a month ago while out walking with her baby.

She said: "I felt someone come by from behind. I was walking my baby when I caught him. I stopped and, in what was probably a stupid idea, confronted him and chased him away."

She also recalled how one resident refused to leave the house with her child unless she was with her husband.

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She said pickpockets were walking around "with impunity targeting vulnerable groups".

Rafi Hauqe, who works at Boots Queensway said the street is an easy target for thieves because of the volume of tourists who visit the area.

Supt Beth Pirie, responsible for neighbourhood policing in Westminster, said: "We understand the concern this causes for those who live and work nearby.

"We have a dedicated Police Constable and Police Community Support Officers attached to the Bayswater area who regularly carry out patrols in order to deter criminals and provide community reassurance."

Deputy council leader Aicha Less said the council has been working with local police to tackle the issue but as a local authority, it had limited powers for enforcement.

The Met said it has recently carried out regular and plain-clothed operations in the area.

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