Suspected key-less car thief caught on CCTV with ‘device’ in Portsmouth street

CAUGHT aiming a high-tech device at a house in the dead of night a suspected car thief has sparked a warning over the dangers of keyless car thefts.
By Ben Fishwick
Published 29th Mar 2019, 18:39 BST
Updated 29th Mar 2019, 18:51 BST
CCTV captured outside a home in Highgate Road in Copnor on March 28 at 2am shows a man allegedly trying to use a key-less car device to steal a vehicle. Pictures: Charlotte Blades/Blades Security SystemsCCTV captured outside a home in Highgate Road in Copnor on March 28 at 2am shows a man allegedly trying to use a key-less car device to steal a vehicle. Pictures: Charlotte Blades/Blades Security Systems
CCTV captured outside a home in Highgate Road in Copnor on March 28 at 2am shows a man allegedly trying to use a key-less car device to steal a vehicle. Pictures: Charlotte Blades/Blades Security Systems

Spotted at just after 2am in a residential street in Portsmouth the unknown man appears to point the device at an outbuilding before clambering up a garden wall.

CCTV footage captured the suspicious incident, now under investigation by police, in Highgate Road, Copnor, on Wednesday.

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Security expert Charlotte Blades, who runs Blades Security Systems and only discovered what happened after watching the footage outside her home, said she was concerned and people needed to be vigilant.

CCTV captured outside a home in Highgate Road in Copnor on March 28 at 2am shows a man allegedly trying to use a key-less car device to steal a vehicle. Pictures: Charlotte Blades/Blades Security SystemsCCTV captured outside a home in Highgate Road in Copnor on March 28 at 2am shows a man allegedly trying to use a key-less car device to steal a vehicle. Pictures: Charlotte Blades/Blades Security Systems
CCTV captured outside a home in Highgate Road in Copnor on March 28 at 2am shows a man allegedly trying to use a key-less car device to steal a vehicle. Pictures: Charlotte Blades/Blades Security Systems

The 31-year-old said: ‘It was very concerning to see someone loitering around our property and obviously attempting to steal cars.

‘We recently moved to the area and felt it was important to share the footage to make people aware.

‘Most of our neighbours are now aware, which is great. We can now be a bit more alert and aware as a community as to what is happening in our area.’

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The man was spotted on a CCTV camera happened at the junction with Seafield Road.

Nothing was stolen in the incident and police in Portsmouth have insisted there is no ‘identified issues relating to key-less car theft’ in the city.

Key-less car  thefts involved thieves using devices to relay the unlock signal from a set of keys inside someone’s home to the car on a driveway or street. Thieves do not need to enter the home as in traditional burglaries.

‘The man appeared to be holding a device of some sort. Officers will be reviewing the CCTV,’ a Hampshire police spokesman said.

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Publicly-available data shows that the force recorded 12,551 cases of vehicle crime last year – the equivalent of 34 a day and a one per cent rise on 2017.

Vehicle crime can include a range of  incidents, from number plates being damaged to cars stolen.