Terrifying moment woman is confronted by gang wielding iron bars outside her home as they steal her neighbour's catalytic converter
Terrifying footage shows a woman being confronted by thieves wielding iron bars when she disturbed them stealing the catalytic converter from a neighbour's car.
A balaclava-clad man ran at Madhuri Bedi, 52, when she stepped outside her house in Colnbrook, Berkshire, to walk her dog at around 6.30pm on December 4.
Doorbell camera footage shows Mrs Bedi, a Slough borough councillor, managing to get herself and her dog inside the house and close the door before the man reached her.
He can be repeatedly heard yelling: 'Get back,' before another masked man bounded over brandishing a metal bar.
The first man then banged on the door in an attempt to intimidate Mrs Bedi as her husband, Sunil, 54 and son, Nihal, 15, held the front door closed. 
Terrifying footage shows Madhuri Bedi being confronted by thieves wielding iron bars when she disturbed them stealing the catalytic converter from a neighbour's car in Colnbrook
After Madhuri Bedi stepped outside of her home, one of the thieves ran at her during the terrifying encounter on December 4
The video starts with four masked figures carrying tools and metal bars approaching a car on the other side of the street.
Suddenly one spots Mrs Bedi and runs over carrying a metal tool in one hand, forcing her to dash back indoors.
During the video, the man says: 'I'm taking this cat,' which appears to be a reference to the catalytic converter.
Afterwards Mrs Bedi recalled the 'terrifying' encounter. She said: 'I walked out and saw these men charging towards me with iron rods.
'I thought that they were coming to cause harm to my family and to rob the property.
'I had no idea at that time that it was to do with me interrupting them - we only found that out afterwards when we looked at the CCTV footage.
'Another neighbour had arrived back from work and had seen some legs sticking out from under the car in question, and just assumed some work was being done on it.
Mrs Bedi said the ordeal was terrifying to have happened in such a 'quiet and peaceful' area
The four men had targeted a neighbour's car and used power tools to remove the catalytic converter
'I quickly managed to get back inside the house and close the door, I don't know how.
'My husband and my son were then holding the door and thinking that they were trying to get into the property.'
But the men fled once they had removed the valuable part from the car.
She added: 'They had come to steal my neighbour's catalytic converter, and because I disturbed them in the act, that's why they charged me - they must have thought it was my car.
'I can't say they necessarily wanted to harm me, but as far as I was concerned they had iron rods - and the fear that went through my mind at the time, and my whole body, was awful.
'I had my dog with me, and I had to quickly get him in with me too. It was terrifying, and it still is.'
Mrs Bedi added: 'They were so blasé about the whole thing, even having enough time to pass each other tools and use their own names.
'The man changed his voice to sound more "Dalek" - like to sound more threatening, so to them it's a joke.'
She continued: 'It's a lovely village, everyone knows each other, so it was really surprising when this happened. It was so early, which is what really surprised me.
The independent Slough councillor captured the footage on her Ring doorbell security camera. Pictured the man fleeing after the theft
'[The thefts] have been quite common, every now and then you see it pop up on social media. But it's usually at night, dead of the night.
Mrs Bedi now says she intends to do more to keep the community safe in her role as councillor for Foxborough Ward on Slough Borough Council.
She said: 'The crime needs to be taken more seriously. Their action took only about a minute, and how do people pay for that kind of theft?
'It's the lasting impact that it has on people as well, because it's such a violation of their property.
'They come out to drop their kids off at school, or wherever it is in the morning, and the converter is gone.'
Mrs Bedi added: 'Part of this comes down to the manufacturers too, they should do something to make a positive change and make this harder.'
She reported the incident to police.
Thefts of catalytic converters more than doubled between 2019 and 2020, due to the rocketing value of precious metals.
Some police forces have seen them rise by more than 400 per cent, with organised gangs targeting dozens of cars a day.
Thefts across England, Wales and Northern Ireland rose by 104 per cent on average, figures from 25 forces obtained by Which? and published in June showed.
The metals in catalytic converters are more valuable than gold and can be easily sold.
So a single converter, which cleans harmful gases before they exit the exhaust pipe, can fetch up to £400.
A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: 'I can confirm we are investigating this incident, which occurred at a property in Slough on 4 December.
'No arrests have so far been made. Anyone with any information should call us on 101, quoting reference number 43210548516.'
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