Moment brazen thieves steal catalytic converter from car parked on owner’s driveway while he ate his dinner inside the house

•  Two thieves rolled up outside a house in Hurley, north Warwickshire on Sunday
• The men jacked up a Vauxhall Astra on the driveway to steal part of the exhaust
• One of the men used an angle grinder to slice through  This is the shocking moment brazen thieves jack up a car parked outside its owner's home and steals the catalytic converter in a five-minute daylight raid. 

  The car owner was inside his home in Hurley, North Warwickshire, eating his dinner but neither he nor other family members heard the thieves who struck at around 5.30pm on Sunday, March 7. 

  The victim's daughter, who did not want to be named, said: 'My mum and dad are pretty shaken up. 

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  This is the moment a pair of thieves targeted a Vauxhall Astra sitting on a driveway in Hurley, North Warwickshire, to steal the car's catalytic converter

  

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  The thieves jacked up the car before crawling under the vehicle and cutting off a section of the exhaust using a battery-powered angle grinder in the raid on Sunday, March 7

  

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  CCTV footage from a neighbour showed the men attacking the car for around five minutes

  

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  Thieves use an angle grinder or a reciprocating saw to slice through the exhaust to remove the catalytic converter which contains valuable platinum

  'People need to see how quick and cheeky they are to get it off. Nothing at all was heard.'We thought it was done in the middle of the night, it was only when I went round and asked the neighbour who has cameras on the front of their house that they found it was in broad daylight while my mum and dad were having their dinner.'

  Footage shows a car pulled up by the victim's house. A masked man gets out and jacks up the Astra, which is parked on a sloping driveway.

  He slides underneath and removes the catalytic converter before passing it to an accomplice.  

  The victim's daughter added: 'My mum and dad's drive is that steep, they were really lucky that the car either didn't fall on them or roll into the garage door where my mum's car was. 

  'They have got to have targeted my dad's car and watched to see when was best to get it off without being seen.' 

  According to the footage, the criminals took around five minutes to complete the theft and drive off. Warwickshire Police confirmed they were called to a report of the theft of a catalytic converter from a car in Hurley and appealed for information.

  Thefts of catalytic converters have risen recently as criminals sell the platinum inside to unscrupulous metal merchants. 

  There is approximately 5g of platinum inside an average catalytic converter and the scrap value of the metal is around £25 to £30 a gram.  

  How to avoid becoming a victim of catalytic converter theft 

  • Keep your vehicle in a garage or secure area if you have one 
  • Alarms, lighting and CCTV help to deter thieves 
  • Buy a protection device for you catalytic converter 
  • Set your dash cam to detect movement 
  • Park with your exhaust close to a fence, wall or kerb to make it difficult for thieves  
  • Avoid parking half on the pavement and half on the road as this makes it easier for thieves 
  • If parking in a car park try to park alongside other cars 
  • Mark your catalytic converter with your car's serial number – this makes it harder for thieves to sell it on and means it can be tracked back to your vehicle if police seize it 
  • Keep an eye out for people acting suspiciously (especially if they are under a vehicle) and report it by calling 999

  

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  A catalytic converter contains an inner core with around 5g of precious metals such as platinum

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