Chatham dad calls for change-up in car design after steering wheel stolen

In recent weeks four BMW owners in Medway have been victims of theft, with car windows smashed and steering wheels stolen.

Transcript

00:00 It happened in the blink of an eye. Within 10 seconds a man from Waterslade had his car

00:09 window smashed open and his steering wheel stolen.

00:16 His father Kevin recounted the moment this occurred last Monday.

00:20 In under 10 seconds, window smashed, steering wheel ripped out and the thieves have gone

00:26 in

00:44 a car crash.

00:46 A common piece of advice in keeping your vehicle safe and less susceptible to being a target

00:50 of crime is parking it under a street lamp at night time but this is the very spot that

00:55 his car was when this incident occurred and it was one of several steering wheel thefts

00:59 that all happened in this area in the same evening.

01:03 One local mechanic said he's had a number of people coming in who've also had their

01:06 steering wheel stolen.

01:08 I think going over the span of the last couple of months we've had four, five over our two

01:13 sites. They're after the M Sport wheels so obviously they seem to be quite popular whether

01:17 they're getting sold in the second hand market or not but it seems to be a big thing. If

01:21 you can deter them from it then fit a steering lock. If they look through the window, they

01:25 see a steering lock, they move on.

01:28 Kevin criticised BMW's safety feature which allows a steering wheel to collapse in the

01:33 case of an accident to prevent further injury.

01:36 BMW really need to take a look at this. They really do. I want to get some answers. I want

01:42 to know about this safety pin. I want to know how we can in future if the car gets fixed,

01:49 not just for me but other M Sport BMW owners, what would they recommend that we do to stop

01:56 it happening again.

01:57 BMW said they work in partnership with the police and other authorities in the UK and

02:02 around the world in responding to the latest threats and anticipating new ones.

02:07 Where vehicles are locked and secured appropriately, BMW customers should feel reassured that their

02:12 car is no more vulnerable to this kind of criminal theft than any other brand.

02:18 Crime can be reported to the police via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or by calling them on 01634

02:26 79 2209. Emergencies should be reported on 999.

02:32 Sophia Akin for KMTV in Chatham.

02:35 [BLANK_AUDIO]