Police have released video footage showing the bare-faced cheek of thieves stealing tools from a van in broad daylight – as one ‘moons’ through a car window at witnesses.
The offenders struck just before 11 am on 1 August in Fred Lee Grove, #Coventry and swiped tools valued at around £600 having smashed a window to gain access.
One of the thieves exposed his bottom through their getaway car window and the other also posed towards the camera before they drove away.
Officers think the men are part of a wider group that has targeted more than 40 tradespeople across Coventry in recent weeks.
WMP has also issued CCTV showing two men opening a white van in Torrington Avenue, Coventry, two days earlier but fleeing as they were disturbed.
And more video footage shows a larger group – armed with crowbars – stealing from a van in Broad Lane, Coventry, before driving away in a black Audi.
Police have conducted an extensive CCTV trawl and seized footage showing several offenses, made inquiries into vehicles used during offenses – which were all on cloned plates – and carried out plain clothes patrols in hotspots.
Coventry Police Detective Inspector Stew Lewis said: “We’ve had a bit of fun with the video in the hope it will be widely shared and generate information about who might be involved.
“But these offences are no laughing matter. These brazen thieves have stolen tools worth thousands of pounds; tradespeople have been left out of pocket and badly inconvenienced.
“They’ve also brandished crowbars and metal batons during some of the thefts and we’re concerned they may be prepared to use violence.
“We need to find these thieves. If you think you recognise them, suspect who may be involved, or have been offered tools for sale in suspicious circumstances, then please get in touch.”