The car was reportedly stolen at around 1:12am and the incident was recorded on the owner’s home security camera system.

According to Mr Orchard, aged 47, owner of the stolen vehicle, “two men in all black” appeared to use “some sort of metal tool to smash in the window” and gain access to the car. Mr Orchard went on to add that the theft “happened really quick” and that it seemed “they knew what they were doing”. When asked how this incident has affected him and his family Mr Orchard said that he now has “no way to get to work or drop the kids at school” and that the crime has left his family feeling “not safe at all” and adding that the event was “just terrible, there’s no other way to say it”.

The police were informed of the crime later on Friday morning and have since arrested the potential perpetrators according to Mr Orchard.

Friday’s theft comes as the most recent incident in a string of previous vehicle robberies in the last few months as there have been at least four similar car thefts in Hayes since the start of summer last year.

Locals have voiced their upset at this apparent rise in vehicle related theft on the Facebook group ‘Hayes Life’ with some members suggesting that they feel concerned about this recent trend. Mr Showell of Cherry Walk, Hayes, shared his experience online in November, claiming that “three guys all in black walked down Cherry Walk last night at 22:30 and stole a catalytic converter off of a car on a driveway.” Another resident, Mr Williams, stated rather pessimistically online that “It appears from recent posts that car thefts are increasing every day in our borough.” 

As well as car theft, Hayes and its surrounding areas have seen similar incidents involving electric scooters and motorbikes in the last six months, some of which have even happened in broad daylight.

When asked what she thought about her neighbour’s car being stolen and the worrying uptick of similar crimes in the local area, Mrs Mayfield, aged 83 of Westland Drive, Hayes, said what most residents seemed to be thinking: “Something has to be done to stop these crooks.”