Gangs of thieves are raiding £1m homes in Cotswolds villages… but wealthy vigilante residents are preparing to fight back
SOURCE:Daily Mail
Wealthy locals in Cotswolds chocolate box villages are forming vigilante groups as they fight back against a spate of burglaries that have left victims in fear.
Wealthy locals in Cotswolds chocolate box villages are forming vigilante groups as they fight back against a spate of burglaries.
Balaclava-clad gangs are stalking high-end properties in the affluent villages of Kingham and Churchill, where house prices average at around £1million.
A worrying number of raids in the neighbouring areas, sitting just over a mile apart, has prompted terrified locals to take action into their own hands.
Victims claim the area's reputation of being home to celebrities and millionaires has turned it into a 'magnet for criminals', with A-listers including Kate Moss and Simon Cowell among those living nearby.
CCTV obtained by the Daily Mail shows a gang targeting a property in Churchill on Boxing Day, while another home in Kingham was burgled that same evening.
Two gang members dressed in tracksuits with faces covered with balaclavas can be seen scoping the property in a surprisingly laid back manner before one member, wearing red gloves, walks up to the CCTV camera and brazenly tries to direct it away.
But their presence was already detected and alerted to the homeowner, who saw live footage of the attempted break-in on her mobile phone.
She then immediately posted details in a local residents WhatsApp group, sparking 30 residents to spring into action to hunt down the gang, who had been forced to flee.
'I put it in our local WhatsApp group... within seconds people were running out to get them', the homeowner told the Mail. 'People just went for it.'
But the Boxing Day incidents, which saw cash and jewelry stolen during the burglary in Kingham, do not seem to come in isolation.
Over the past year, the village has battled with a troubling pattern of burglaries and vehicle theft, with residents telling of how mask-wearing gangs roam the area and 'peer into windows'.
Two burglars were caught on CCTV footage at a property in Churchill as they tried to redirect the camera away from them
The pair were seen stalking the property as they looked for entry-points, but the homeowner was alerted to their movements. They informed a local Whatsapp group, and residents chased the gang out of the area
The charming villages of Kingham and Churchill have seen a spate of burglaries and vehicle theft. Pictured: Kingham
A number of similar local residents' groups have been formed in the villages and surrounding areas following the worrying rise in crime.
Detectives are linking the Boxing Day attempted break-in in Churchill with the burglary in Kingham.
In that incident, the raiders smashed the back door to enter the house and stole both cash and jewellery.
The break-in in Kingham took place between 2.15pm and 8.45pm, and the failed break-in, just five minutes drive away, took place at 6.25pm.
Kingham in particular has been the scene of numerous high-value car thefts, with burglars entering homes to steal keys before taking off with the vehicles.
Locals in both villages and the surrounding area have spoken of an increase in burglaries and crime in general, which they put down to the wealthy neighbourhood they live in - saying it has become a 'magnet' for criminals.
There was speculation following a string of incidents during the summer that the gangs were coming from nearby cities.
The victims of the Churchill burglary - a married couple with children - shared the footage with the Daily Mail in a bid to highlight the problem.
Speaking to our reporter, the father, who did not want to be named out of fear of being targeted again, said: 'We were away for Boxing Day and were relaxing in Sussex when the phone alerted and we just saw two people trying to break into the house.
'One of them had tried to move the camera to avoid being detected. I put it in our local WhatsApp group straight away and said which our house was and people sprang into action.
'Within seconds people were running out to get them. People just went for it.
'The group has been set up after another burglary in the village and other crime locally.
'People want to be alert. There were soon 30 residents out there, people with dogs and the police arrived quickly with six cars.
Police believe another incident, a burglary in Kingham on the same day, is linked to this attempted break-in in Churchill
Local resident groups have been formed in the villages and surrounding areas as they look to fight against the spate of burglaries
Homes in the villages of Kingham and Churchill average at around £1million
'The burglars did not hang around, I think the locals scared them off. The police had dogs as well.
'We feel very fortunate that they escaped with nothing.'
One burglar can be seen in a black cap and black top, while the other wore a balaclava and a jumper. He could be seen attempting to move the camera, though it caught every second of their movement.
Other CCTV caught them walking around the house and in the garden where they appear to be looking for the best method to gain entry.
But they were not at the property for long before being chased off by locals.
The mother said one of the residents responding was a woman in her 60s who ran out on her own.
The father added: 'You used to hear that people don't have community spirit anymore but because of the rise in crime, we have had to.
'There's a lot of people in the WhatsApp group. People are very alert around here.
'I think we were targeted because of the area. There's so many wealthy people and celebrities here.
'It's become a magnet for criminals.
'We've all become potential targets. We have to protect each other. It's sad because it's such a lovely area but that has attracted criminals who want to exploit that.'
He said the family were 'shaken' by what happened, adding: 'Thank God they did not enter the house.
'We feel sorry for the other family in the next village and others who have been targeted.'
Paul Cherish, who has lived in the village for 10 years, said the locals were experiencing a 'crimewave'.
The company director said: 'It's sickening at the moment. The village is on edge. We should not have to set up resident patrols and groups but that's what we're doing.
'We feel under attack from the criminals.'
In September, police warned they had received reports of men in balaclavas in and around gardens in a residential street in Kingham in the early hours of the morning.
The victims of the attempted break-in on Boxing Day say they believe the area is targeted due to its high-profile reputation as the home of many celebrities and wealthy homes
They told the Daily Mail: 'It's sad because it's such a lovely area but that has attracted criminals who want to exploit that'
Officers warned in September that they had been alerted to reports of balaclava-clad men roaming gardens on a residential street in Kingham in the early hours of the morning. They warned of an increase in organised crimes targeting high-end vehicles in the area
Officers warned that the area has 'recently been targeted by organised criminals seeking high-end vehicles', and assured police would be increasing patrols in the area, on foot and in marked and unmarked police cars.
During the summer, two burglaries took place at two different locations on July 17, and another took place on July 30.
In another incident, one house was burgled for a second time. The owner told the Mail they were frightened to speak of fear of being targeted once again.
One local businessman who runs a pub in Kingham told the Mail during the string of incidents in the summer: 'There are guys driving up and down in balaclavas, looking into windows.
'They are peering in with torches looking for keys.
'To see that kind of thing in this village is surprising, that's the thing. For me, I'm from Solihull, so its way worse down there.
'But here you don't expect it.'
Experts say Churchill and Kingham have become a soft target because of easy road access for criminals coming and going from different directions.
The villages are served by the M5, M4 and M40, which have direct routes between major cities.
The culprits could be back in London or Birmingham and Coventry within two hours.
As well as the high house prices, some visitors are paying £95,000 a week to rent country manors in the area.
One recent victim of a car thief in Kingham is a top City executive who has been forced to sell his car after the incident.
Martin Drake, 44, said he caught a masked gang of three men 'stalking' his street in the middle of the night with torches.
He said: 'It was terrifying. The response was shocking from the police. Basically, they were saying we had to wait to watch them break in before they would do anything.