'Daring thieves' breaking into Swindon taxis in broad daylight

The frustrated motorists are fed up with spending hundreds of pounds at a time on window repairs while having to take time off work until their vehicles are roadworthy again.

They allege that up to 80 cars have had their windows smashed during the last three months but the lack of arrested suspects has made some of the drivers give up on reporting future incidents to police.

Messages about a new break-in pop up in their WhatsApp group of around 120 drivers on a regular basis, with no indication of things improving, as offers to send video footage to the police in a bid to assist investigations seem to have led nowhere.

A suspect in a grey tracksuit near a Swindon taxi (Image: From public)

Footage in one CCTV clip appears to show a black-capped e-scooter rider sidle up to a Veezu taxi, smash the window, and lean into the vehicle to search for something only to then hurry away empty-handed.

Another clip taken from a Ring doorbell on January 10 appears to show Ring doorbell footage of a man in a hoodie and hat fiddling with the front window of a parked car.

A mobile phone video appears to catch a grey-tracksuited suspect in the act as the car alarm sounds and the offender runs away into the night.

Footage of a man seemingly breaking into a taxi (Image: From public)

One taxi driver said: “At the end of the day, he’s taking money from my family. At this point, even if I caught him, I wouldn't call the police."

Another driver said: “The police are not helping taxi drivers. We have reported these issues to them and we have all the evidence, but no action is being taken.

“These thieves are so daring now because they know they can get away with it, they walk right up to the cars and do it, even in broad daylight."

Some drivers have put a notice on their to notify would-be window smashers that no valuables are left inside it in a bid to stop them causing further damage, while others leave their windows down at all times.

Muhammad Zubair with a notice in his car window that aims to stop break-ins (Image: Newsquest)

Muhammad Yasin is leading a campaign group called Swindon Drivers Alliance to raise awareness of the problem.

He said: "We have lost trust in the police because of the way they are dealing with this issue. It's serious, we have to work hand in hand and need action on this ASAP."

The drivers claim that the yellow taxi plates required by law are making their cars targets for thieves, but calls for the council to change the policy have not been successful so far.

Wiltshire Police have been approached for comment.