Thief charged caught stealing tools from vehicle in Watford

A Watford man has been charged after several expensive gardening tools were stolen from a vehicle.

Vehicle owner caught man stealing from his vehicle in Watford at near 6pm on Wednesday (25 January).

He called the police to report that they had confronted someone after their vehicle was broken into outside their address in Hagden Lane.

Officers attended, detained the suspect at the scene and took him into police custody.

Michael Curtis, aged 50, of Croxley View, Watford, has been charged with theft from a motor vehicle.

Several of his tools were recovered by police and returned to the victim.

Safer Neighbourhood Team Inspector Matt Langley said: “This is a great result, and thanks to the vigilance of this member of the public we were able to make a swift arrest and quickly recover those stolen items, securing a charge in under 24 hours.

“We would encourage you to always call 999 if you see someone acting suspiciously in the vicinity of your, or any other, vehicle. A crime could potentially be in progress and by calling 999 you are giving us the best possible chance to attend immediately and detain any suspects.”

Recently want to remind people to make sure you lock the doors, shut the windows whenever you leave your vehicle unattended.

If your vehicle has a keyless start function, make sure you keep the keys far away from the vehicle and preferably in a Faraday bag or tin box.

Never leave vehicle documents in your car – don’t make it easy for a thief to sell your car or provide a cover story if stopped by the police.