UoB students went ‘Peaky Blinders’ to track down burglar who ‘stole £3,000 worth of goods’

UoB students had to take matters into their own hands Peaky Blinders-style after been burgled whilst on a night out.

Despite leaving the house locked and secured, they say a man managed to kick down the front door and throw a brick through it at their house in Selly Oak and stole £3,000 worth of goods.

The medical and nursing students even went as far as tracking down the alleged perpetrator, who they say became aggressive after giving back some of the stolen goods after the police refused to help.

West Midlands Police told The Birmingham Tab they are in contact with the victims and are investigating, reviewing CCTV and forensically examining a number of items.

The door the burglar threw a brick through

Upon returning from their night out at two in the morning, the residents had no idea whether the alleged perpetrator was still inside the house as the police did not visit.

Resident Tasha told The Birmingham Tab: “Our landlord is more annoyed that his Victorian door is in pieces and tried to blame us for the mess caused by the break in than us having all of our valuables taken.

“He ransacked my housemates room that was locked and had a light visible from the front of the house. Although he didn’t take anything, he drunk her wine and looked through all her drawers and receipts.”

A bedroom door kicked in

The residents tracked down a stolen iPhone to an address in the outskirts of Birmingham, and friends followed the alleged burglar (and the stolen iPhone) Tommy Shelby-style out of the property and to a petrol station.

Tasha told The Birmingham Tab: “Find my iPhone kept moving in the same direction as the car we were following for almost 45 minutes. He stopped to get petrol and my friends confronted him, asking for our stuff back.

“They rung the stolen phone and heard the ringtone in the back of his car, and they also found another phone and an iPad”.

One of Tasha’s friends stood in front of the alleged perpetrators car and blocked him in whilst recording the incident.

One of the ransacked rooms

“We had to turn off the video as he started getting aggressive and threatening to beat up my 5″4 housemate who clearly wouldn’t stand a chance against a 6-foot man.

“The guy we got our things back from might not have been the only one to break in, but it was a little sus that they were in his car.”

Tasha tells The Birmingham Tab that they rung the police approximately four times, but they refused to help and told them “it’s good you managed to get a few things back”.

She said: “We had to endanger ourselves to get our stolen goods back as the police did nothing despite us having a video, license plate, address and similar bricks that were possibly used to smash a window were found in his back garden”.

It could be a month until the residents can move back in, and have been offered no alternative accommodation by their landlord.

More damage caused by the burglary

Resident Tasha posted on Fab ‘n’ Fresh to explain her situation, and included tips should you find your house burgled:

• Lock your bedroom doors every time you leave the house

• Make sure you are on insurance that covers theft

• Activate GPS tracking such as Find My iPhone

• Set your house alarm every time you go out

• If you are burgled and the police are called, tell them that you don’t know whether the intruder is still in the house

West Midlands Police were contacted for comment and responded: “We understand the victim’s concerns and we remain in contact with them as we continue to investigate this offence. CCTV is being reviewed and officers have also retrieved a number of items from the scene which will be forensically examined.

“We would remind everyone that it is always safer to report any crime in progress to us on 999, rather than taking action yourself. Or to update officers on investigations you can message us on Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk, or call 101.”

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