The London street with major pickpocket issue where TESCO managers says 'phones are stolen every day'
| Published date | 18 April 2024 |
| Publication title | MyLondon (England) |
The Met Police said it has recently carried out regular and plain clothed operations in the area. It comes as cllr Cunningham said she was confronted by one pickpocket last week who she claimed had targeted a female tourist.
The Lancaster Gate ward cllr said she recorded the man, who then became aggressive. The mum-of-six said she was also targeted in Westbourne Grove a month ago while out on a stroll with her baby.
She said: “I felt someone come by from behind. I was walking my baby when I caught him. I stopped and, in what was probably a stupid idea, confronted him and chased him away.”
She claims mothers are being targeted and recalled how one resident refuses to leave the house with her child unless her husband is around. Cllr Cunningham said: “These are opportunities who walk around with impunity targeting vulnerable groups.”
MyLondon visited several concerned businesses in Queensway last week and was told a gang of five to six men and women target the street “every day”.
Ed, a restaurant manager at Bella Italia, said they try stealing customers’ belongings by sitting close enough to them to access their bags and purses. He claims they’ve been operating on the street for at least the two years he’s been at the restaurant. He said: “Sometimes we are able to prevent it by warning our customers to keep their bags close.”
Iryna, 21, is a manager at the Bayswater Arms pub and said she sees the gang, which she claims operates “like a family”, almost daily. She said they often come in asking to use the toilet and walk by customers, stealing items from their pockets along the way.
Iryna recalled seeing one thief lean back on a chair to grab a woman’s belongings and says customers have lost passports, wallets, phones and sometimes entire bags.
Superintendent Beth Pirie, responsible for neighbourhood policing in Westminster, said: “We are aware that pickpockets are an issue in the Queensway area and understand the concern this causes for those who live and work nearby. We have a dedicated PC Police Constable and PCSO Police Community Support Officers attached to the Bayswater area who regularly carry out patrols in order to deter criminals and provide...
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