Couple track down stolen car using tracing tech

A couple managed to find their stolen car using tracking technology.

Tim Taylor and his wife's Land Rover Discovery was taken from their driveway in Epping in the early hours of 8 June.

The pair tracked it using a remote security app and an Apple AirTag, and found it later that day completely stripped down at an industrial unit in Dagenham, east London.

Mr Taylor said it was a "nightmare" and Essex Police said it was investigating the theft.

The 57-year-old admitted he was a "geeky techy dad" but told BBC Essex: "I only helped the police. It's not like I identified any criminal masterminds."

Mr Taylor said his doorbell camera showed evidence of the car leaving the family home at 01:15 BST, and the Land Rover remote app recorded the car arriving in Enfield, north London, about 30 minutes later.

It arrived at the estate off Selinas Lane in Dagenham at 03:57, according to the app.

Mr Taylor said he realised the car had disappeared from the driveway while having his morning coffee.

"I shouted up to my wife to check she hadn't moved it and then called the police," he added.

But given the couple already had location information, they drove to the estate with their son, where they could see the car through gaps in the doors of an industrial unit.

"It was completely in bits; it's a shell," he described.

Officers from the Met Police joined them at the scene and gained access.

"It's a nightmare. We can't really live without it and it's been the family car - been on holiday with us - takes us to work," he said.

"It's central to our lives in that regard, and suddenly its not there."

An Essex Police spokesperson said: "At this stage, no arrests have been made and we're following a number of targeted lines of inquiry and we're in contact with Mr Taylor and keeping him updated."

Figures for the force show that in the last 12 months to the end of May, the number of thefts of motor vehicles reported decreased by almost 10%.

In the same time frame, the number of incidents being solved increased by more than 120%, the force added.

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