Latest news with #Felixstowe
Bloomberg
19 hours ago
- Bloomberg
UK Car Theft Crisis Pits Manufacturers Against High-Tech Gangs
Business A growing number of stolen vehicles are being shipped overseas by technologically sophisticated criminal groups. To the untrained eye, the red shipping container at Felixstowe looked no different to the thousands of others stacked up at Britain's busiest seaport. Destined for Africa, its contents were listed as 'household goods,' but to police officer Adam Gibson, something didn't add up. So workers broke into the container.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Bloomberg
Police Raid Shipping Containers To Tackle UK's Car Theft Crisis
Police are breaking into shipping containers in a bid to tackle the UK's car theft crisis. Jamie Nimmo joined officers on a raid at Felixstowe port. (Source: Bloomberg)
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The cars smuggled out of Britain after being stolen to order: Moment shipping container hiding three pick-up trucks is intercepted by investigators as it made its way to Africa
This is the dramatic moment investigators opened a shipping container at a UK port hiding three stolen pick-up trucks which were intended to be smuggled to Africa. The three vehicles worth at least £40,000 each were found to have been stacked on top of each other in the container which was intercepted at Felixstowe in Suffolk. Experts told a new Channel 4 Dispatches documentary that Hyundai, Kia, Toyota and Lexus cars were increasingly being stolen as well as higher-value Range Rovers. The Middle East and Africa have a huge market for second-hand car parts, driving the demand for stolen cars in the UK which is also linked to illegal drugs market. The sting was carried out by Adam Gibson, an officer from the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), a privately-funded force working with the UK police. Mr Gibson could not reveal on camera why the containers he was checking were deemed suspicious amid fears such a revelation could give criminals an advantage. But the clip showed his team opening up the unit at Felixstowe, which is the UK's largest container port where 11,000 shipping containers pass through each day. Felixstowe is the UK's largest container port where 11,000 containers pass through each day Inside the container he found three cars stacked on top of one another, all stolen and with falsified paperwork. Mr Gibson said: 'We've seen five cars in a container this size, so you'll see quite quickly from the way it's probably loaded that something's not quite right.' Looking inside, he added: 'They've got £40,000 plus per car. That's not how you load them in a container. This box is headed to Africa, which the roads out in Africa are obviously suited to this kind of thing.' A white pick-up truck Mr Gibson found had a 2022 number plate - but he determined that it was actually made in 2023 and had been reported stolen from Kent in January. He continued: 'Whereas we were finding Range Rovers worth £150,000, we're getting pickup trucks and SUVs worth £40,000 now. 'We are seeing brands like Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Lexus. So the quality has dropped off, I suppose, but the volume has gone up.' Across three containers, Mr Gibson found 12 cars in total - with family photographs visible inside at least one of them. He added: 'Some gangs will literally gut the car of any personal effects. Others will just leave everything. 'There's kids' seats, toys, all sorts of them. I'm constantly told by people that vehicle crime, where it's victimless, it's just the insurance companies. 'Yes, the insurance company pay out, but we all get our premiums go up because the insurance aren't going to absorb it. So it has a knock-on effect on everyone else.' Last year the number of stolen vehicles recovered by NaVCIS increased to 589, having been at 76 in 2021 – and many of them had been broken down for parts. The documentary also obtained exclusive figures suggesting seven out of ten cars stolen in England and Wales are never recovered. Freedom of Information requests to police forces in England and Wales also revealed that – for the 18 forces who responded - only 3.4 per cent of reports of a car being stolen between 2020 and 2024 led to someone being charged or summonsed. Highly organised gangs are stealing cars then dismantling them at so called 'chop shops' before shipping them out of the country. In one clip, two car thieves demonstrate how they can use keyless technology bought from the dark web how they can steal a car in just 20 seconds.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Owners call for tolerance after motorhome ban
Motorhome owners have called for tolerance after a council ruled they would no longer be permitted to park on a seafront promenade. They had been allowed unlimited free parking on Undercliff Road East in Felixstowe, but East Suffolk Council has deemed the road "unsuitable" for high volumes of such vehicles and will ban them from 7 July. Some residents have welcomed the decision, but motorhome owners claim they are being discriminated against. The council said alternative parking would be provided. With easy access to the beach, free tap water and public toilets just metres away, the road has become a popular destination for touring vehicles. But local raised concerns that motorhomes were parking for months at a time, preventing them and visitors from being able to enjoy the area. The council's order will create car-only parking bays, without a time limit to enable longer stays, as well as time-restricted bays for disabled badge holders. The authority also hopes the ban will help "residents and visitors access the beachfront easily". 'We are not ogres' Felixstowe resident and motorhome owner Katrina Cable, 52, called on those on either side of the divide "to work together". "I agree there is an issue of sorts and I see why it might put people's noses out of joint, but there has to be a compromise," she told the BBC. "We get all sorts of comments like 'Look at that monstrosity', so I am extremely conscious, but it's an ignorance, sadly. "We are human beings with kind hearts; we are not these ogres that we are being made out to be. We are peacekeepers and would do anything to help anybody." 'It does feel unfair' Another local resident, Kath Gaynor, 73, said: "It does feel unfair that those of us that like to use the beach and that live here don't get the full access we thought we did or could. "We have a disabled son and he arrives here in his accessibility vehicle, but it's often quite difficult to enable him to get out and unloaded. "Lots of families want to come here in their cars with their kids but you have 15 big motorhomes where there could have been space for 60 cars." 'They look after themselves and they don't mix' Motorhome owners told the BBC their presence should be embraced, as they contributed to the local economy by using the town's shops and pubs. But local resident John Gaynor, 73, said he did not believe they did enough to integrate into the local community, adding that while some were "pleasant", others could be "unfriendly". "They look after themselves and they are on their own – they don't mix," he said. "They are very intrusive for us because we have had one or two of them parked here for two months." Another homeowner, who did not wish to be named but has lived on the road for 15 years, said the situation had become "awful". "I pay a lot of money to live here and all I see [is motorhomes], and if you ask them to move you get a load of verbal," she said. "Last night there were five in a row – a whole train of them. I love living here, apart from the motorhomes." 'We are law-abiding people' Ian Cable, 69, said the idea that motorhome owners were a nuisance was a misconception. "I can understand some of the frustration when it comes to any sort of parking in seaside towns but we have to embrace it; that's what we have to do, not fight, embrace it," he said. "I don't know what they think us motorhomers are, but we are law-abiding people who are paying their dues." 'A complete ban is discrimination' The forthcoming ban has been welcomed by Paul West, Suffolk County Council Conservative cabinet member for operational highways and flooding, who said motorhomes had been allowed to "dominate the promenade". But campervan owner Gayle Myers-Drake said the ban could put people off visiting the town. "I have health issues so I have to have my own toilet onboard and so I am bit frustrated," she said. "We are not all that bad, but we have all been put into the same bracket. "I can understand them putting in an overnight ban and charging for car parking spaces but to do a complete ban is discrimination. "Why would people want to go to Felixstowe when they are treated in this way?" East Suffolk Council said it remained committed to providing parking for motorhomes and campervans in the town. "Alternative parking for larger vehicles will be available at Manor Terrace, Landguard, Garrison Lane and Golf Road," a spokesperson said. "Overnight parking in these locations will be permitted for a maximum of three days, with no return within seven days. Signage and larger bays will be introduced." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Parking Felixstowe
BBC News
5 days ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Owners call for tolerance after Felixstowe motorhome ban
Motorhome owners have called for tolerance after a council ruled they would no longer be permitted to park on a seafront had been allowed unlimited free parking on Undercliff Road East in Felixstowe, but East Suffolk Council has deemed the road "unsuitable" for high volumes of such vehicles and will ban them from 7 residents have welcomed the decision, but motorhome owners claim they are being discriminated against. The council said alternative parking would be provided. With easy access to the beach, free tap water and public toilets just metres away, the road has become a popular destination for touring local raised concerns that motorhomes were parking for months at a time, preventing them and visitors from being able to enjoy the council's order will create car-only parking bays, without a time limit to enable longer stays, as well as time-restricted bays for disabled badge authority also hopes the ban will help "residents and visitors access the beachfront easily". 'We are not ogres' Felixstowe resident and motorhome owner Katrina Cable, 62, called on those on either side of the divide "to work together"."I agree there is an issue of sorts and I see why it might put people's noses out of joint, but there has to be a compromise," she told the BBC."We get all sorts of comments like 'Look at that monstrosity', so I am extremely conscious, but it's an ignorance, sadly."We are human beings with kind hearts; we are not these ogres that we are being made out to be. We are peacekeepers and would do anything to help anybody." 'It does feel unfair' Another local resident, Kath Gaynor, 73, said: "It does feel unfair that those of us that like to use the beach and that live here don't get the full access we thought we did or could. "We have a disabled son and he arrives here in his accessibility vehicle, but it's often quite difficult to enable him to get out and unloaded."Lots of families want to come here in their cars with their kids but you have 15 big motorhomes where there could have been space for 60 cars." 'They look after themselves and they don't mix' Motorhome owners told the BBC their presence should be embraced, as they contributed to the local economy by using the town's shops and local resident John Gaynor, 73, said he did not believe they did enough to integrate into the local community, adding that while some were "pleasant", others could be "unfriendly". "They look after themselves and they are on their own – they don't mix," he said."They are very intrusive for us because we have had one or two of them parked here for two months."Another homeowner, who did not wish to be named but has lived on the road for 15 years, said the situation had become "awful"."I pay a lot of money to live here and all I see [is motorhomes], and if you ask them to move you get a load of verbal," she said."Last night there were five in a row – a whole train of them. I love living here, apart from the motorhomes." 'We are law-abiding people' Ian Cable, 69, said the idea that motorhome owners were a nuisance was a misconception."I can understand some of the frustration when it comes to any sort of parking in seaside towns but we have to embrace it; that's what we have to do, not fight, embrace it," he said."I don't know what they think us motorhomers are, but we are law-abiding people who are paying their dues." 'A complete ban is discrimination' The forthcoming ban has been welcomed by Paul West, Suffolk County Council Conservative cabinet member for operational highways and flooding, who said motorhomes had been allowed to "dominate the promenade".But campervan owner Gayle Myers-Drake said the ban could put people off visiting the town. "I have health issues so I have to have my own toilet onboard and so I am bit frustrated," she said."We are not all that bad, but we have all been put into the same bracket. "I can understand them putting in an overnight ban and charging for car parking spaces but to do a complete ban is discrimination. "Why would people want to go to Felixstowe when they are treated in this way?" East Suffolk Council said it remained committed to providing parking for motorhomes and campervans in the town. "Alternative parking for larger vehicles will be available at Manor Terrace, Landguard, Garrison Lane and Golf Road," a spokesperson said."Overnight parking in these locations will be permitted for a maximum of three days, with no return within seven days. Signage and larger bays will be introduced." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
