0:00:02 > 0:00:04Bag snatchers, robberies and street crime.
0:00:04 > 0:00:06According to the latest police figures,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10more than 3,500 incidents of theft are reported every day in the UK.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12For our little girl, it was her best friend.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15So to have your best friend just taken, it's beyond words, really.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18But what happens to our belongings when they're stolen?
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Thief Trackers shows who takes them and where they go.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Hiding trackers inside items like cameras,
0:00:27 > 0:00:29smartphones and bicycles...
0:00:29 > 0:00:32to trace their every move.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34The thieves think they've got away with it,
0:00:34 > 0:00:36but we've got them under surveillance.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44Using undercover footage, CCTV and tracking technology,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47we'll get an insight into the criminal mind...
0:00:47 > 0:00:50and uncover the unseen journey
0:00:50 > 0:00:52that our possessions take when they're stolen.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Today, the thief trackers are on the trail of a stolen purse...
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Yeah, it's definitely gone.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12..tracking the brazen thieves as they make their escape.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14- All right, tell me where they are. - Oxford Street.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19Plus, callous burglars leave one animal lover distraught.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21There are nasty people in this world
0:01:21 > 0:01:24who will come in and take what's not theirs.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26It's like getting my best friend stolen.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31And tracking technology comes to the aid of an Essex tree surgeon.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34After 20 years of graft to earn the money to get that equipment,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37I'm not going to sit there and watch them drive out of the yard with it.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39I just thought, "Let's get 'em."
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Personal theft is one of the commonest crimes in the UK,
0:01:50 > 0:01:51and a favourite hunting ground
0:01:51 > 0:01:54for thieves are busy city cafes and restaurants.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Looking for those moments of distraction,
0:01:57 > 0:01:59people chatting on their phone,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01not paying attention to their belongings.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05It only takes a second, and before you know it, it's gone.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Helping the thief trackers with their investigation
0:02:11 > 0:02:15is our specialist crime adviser Alex Stewart.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17He was assigned to some of the toughest areas of London,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21both on patrol and as an undercover officer, in his time on the Force
0:02:21 > 0:02:23with the Metropolitan Police.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26From theft to drugs to violent crime,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28he's seen what life is like on the streets.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Personal theft has been around since before the Artful Dodger
0:02:34 > 0:02:37plied his trade, and it's no different today.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39But it's wrong to call it petty crime.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43We carry our lives round with us in our purses and wallets.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Bank cards, credit cards, cash and driving licences.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50It's rich pickings for opportunist thieves.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55In 2015 in London alone, they stole over £400,000 worth of goods.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01We've fitted a GPS tracker into a purse.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04We won't say where. We don't want to give the game away.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05But if the purse is stolen,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08we can follow the GPS signal on a tablet or smartphone
0:03:08 > 0:03:10and track down the thieves.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14We've chosen this street because it's exactly the sort
0:03:14 > 0:03:16of location that thieves like to target,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19crowded with tourists and locals alike,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22with plenty of rat runs and access to public transport
0:03:22 > 0:03:24so they can make good their escape.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Following the thieves' every move is the Thief Trackers undercover team,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33who will be mounting a surveillance operation.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35For their safety, you won't see them,
0:03:35 > 0:03:37but you will hear their voices.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Keep your camera on these guys.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50One of the team positions themselves outside a cafe,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53with the purse on the table, just inches away.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56As we all do, she's distracted by texting friends
0:03:56 > 0:03:58and chatting on her phone,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02something that happens every day in towns and cities across the country.
0:04:02 > 0:04:03OK, so she's set up.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07The tracking device in the purse is live.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Now it's a waiting game.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32OK, the guy with the bags.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36I don't think this is our man.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Guy having a smoke.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48What's his story?
0:04:56 > 0:04:58I don't think he's our man.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01There have been a lot of passers-by, but so far,
0:05:01 > 0:05:04no-one's shown any interest in the purse.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Who are these two coming round?
0:05:07 > 0:05:10- Oh, wow.- Oh.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12But it looks like things are about to change.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15He's back.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20Those two are paying a lot of attention to the purse
0:05:20 > 0:05:21with the tracker in it.
0:05:21 > 0:05:22There's his pal.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28It's the third time he's walked past.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33- OK, I think...- I think he's kind of scoping it out.- Yeah.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- And again.- Back again.- Wow.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43I've lost count. How many times is that?
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Yeah, it's definitely gone.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58OK, let's go.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01The thief ducks through the crowds,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03escaping down the maze of side streets,
0:06:03 > 0:06:05but thanks to GPS technology,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08the thief trackers are right on his tail.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10- All right, tell me where they are. - I think they're going north.
0:06:12 > 0:06:13Oxford Street.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18All right, I can't see them.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Oh, they're really not hanging about, these two.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23They're still moving.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Keep going, don't worry, keep going.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28I think they might have gone down the Tube.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32The tracking signal shows the thief heading towards the Underground.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34I can't see them.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Let's... Let's check underground, walk through the station.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45OK, it's this shaft that we want.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49The signal shows the tracker's last known position, so the thief has
0:06:49 > 0:06:51definitely taken the purse underground,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53but we don't know in which direction.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54But when it surfaces again,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57the thief trackers will be waiting to pick up the trail.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Later, the undercover team close in,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09tracking the signal as the purse moves.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12The motion alarm in the purse has just triggered.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25Harlow, in the west of Essex. A new town near the Hertfordshire borders,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28home to Tracy and Richard Taylor, their three boys,
0:07:28 > 0:07:29and eight-year-old Lexie.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34The Taylors are a family of animal lovers, so when one of their dogs
0:07:34 > 0:07:37gave birth to a litter of puppies, they were delighted.
0:07:37 > 0:07:38But with two dogs already,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41they were about to give all their puppies away.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45That was until the runt of the litter made a special connection.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48Lexie's fallen in love with her.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50So she's here to stay.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55When we were thinking of the names, he couldn't think of one.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58So I got a bar of chocolate out
0:07:58 > 0:08:02and I said, "Mum, what type of chocolate is this?"
0:08:02 > 0:08:03And she said, "It's caramel,"
0:08:03 > 0:08:06and so we decided to call the puppy Caramel.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11As soon as she was born, Lexie was just devoted to her.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14And the minute the puppy was awake and had her eyes open,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16they would be playing.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18They just became inseparable, didn't they?
0:08:18 > 0:08:20- From the beginning.- Yeah.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24Lexie's got juvenile arthritis, which means that in her knees
0:08:24 > 0:08:27she sometimes finds it difficult to be mobile
0:08:27 > 0:08:29and needs some encouragement.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34So Caramel seemed to really be perfect in that sense.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36She's like my best friend.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39When she's with me, I feel very confident.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42And she's always with me.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49But in June 2015, Lexie's confidence was about to be shattered.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51I was out at work.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54The mother-in-law was round that day.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57She called me, asked me what I wanted to do with the dogs,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59and I said, "Just leave them out, I'll be home shortly."
0:08:59 > 0:09:02But not soon enough, as next-door neighbour Dawn
0:09:02 > 0:09:04was about to discover.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06I heard the dogs barking.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10And normally they're fairly quiet.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12And so I went to the window.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18Dawn spotted three men making their way down the Taylors' garden path.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22They then proceeded to go inside.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24I just heard a load of noise.
0:09:27 > 0:09:28And then I called my husband.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34I could hear the dogs barking and almost...
0:09:34 > 0:09:36there was like a yelp there,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39as if he had picked one up.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41And then he just quickly ran.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46My husband just wanted to get out there,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50track 'em down and get back anything that they had taken.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Unfortunately, the dog thief had a head start and managed to make
0:09:53 > 0:09:57his escape, disappearing into the woods behind the house.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03I had a phone call from Tracy,
0:10:03 > 0:10:07just saying that she'd had a call saying the house had been burgled.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11I was just leaving work and I said, "I'll be there in five minutes."
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I came to the front of the house and said, no, everything looks fine.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Walked through to the kitchen, saw the shattered back door.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21I was still on the phone to Tracy at the time
0:10:21 > 0:10:25and the first thing she asked me, "Is the puppy gone?"
0:10:25 > 0:10:29As soon as I looked into the compound where the others were,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31I noticed that she was missing.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37She's part of our family, it's like taking one of your children, really.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40For our little girl, it was her best friend,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43so to have your best friend just taken from you,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47from the house in such a callous way,
0:10:47 > 0:10:50yeah, it's beyond words, really.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54We had taken Lexie to my brother's house,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56which is just around the corner,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58whilst we were trying to get the house sorted
0:10:58 > 0:11:00and whilst the police were here.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02We decided that, yes,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05we'd have to tell her but let's get the house straight
0:11:05 > 0:11:07and get ourselves together first
0:11:07 > 0:11:10before we can work out how to break the news to her.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15I went upstairs with Tracy's brother and I had to explain to her that
0:11:15 > 0:11:18someone had broken into the house and had stolen Caramel.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25It was a very distressing time, to see her crying,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29to have to explain to her that there are nasty people in this world
0:11:29 > 0:11:32who will come in and take what's not theirs,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35and unfortunately, on that day, they came in and took Caramel.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42It's like getting my best friend stolen.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44With poor Lexie in pieces,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47the family were desperate to track down their stolen pup
0:11:47 > 0:11:49and turned to the police for advice.
0:11:49 > 0:11:50They were great, actually.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54They suggested perhaps using social media.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56It's not something we'd done before
0:11:56 > 0:11:58so we set about learning how to do it,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01setting up a page, and it really just went from there.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Their campaign to track down Caramel went viral.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06We had messages from all over the world.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10We had different news stations ringing us up,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12"Can we do an interview with you?"
0:12:12 > 0:12:13It was truly amazing.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17We put a poster on the social-media site
0:12:17 > 0:12:19so people were printing that off,
0:12:19 > 0:12:21and putting that up and taking pictures
0:12:21 > 0:12:22and sending them to us, saying,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24"We've done what we can to help.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27"We're in Newcastle," for example, "and we've put posters up for you."
0:12:28 > 0:12:31You couldn't go anywhere without seeing posters - on lampposts,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35bus stops, every corner we turned, there was one there, one there.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38We used to think, "Blimey, someone's gone out of their way to do that.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41"Obviously we've done some but not this amount."
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Mum and Dad told me that Caramel went missing and some other people
0:12:45 > 0:12:51printed off lots of leaflets and I handed them all round my school
0:12:51 > 0:12:53and to all my friends.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55The amount of people that were looking,
0:12:55 > 0:12:56she was bound to be tracked down,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00100%, because she couldn't be moved without someone thinking,
0:13:00 > 0:13:04"Is that that dog?" That's all you had to put into people's minds,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06they saw it and..."Isn't that little Caramel?"
0:13:06 > 0:13:08MOBILE PHONE RINGS
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Sure enough, the phone call they were waiting for
0:13:11 > 0:13:13eventually came through.
0:13:13 > 0:13:14It was literally just ten days.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18It felt like a lot longer and it was from a lady that said,
0:13:18 > 0:13:20"I think I've bought your dog."
0:13:20 > 0:13:25She give me the time and place to meet up and as soon as I turned
0:13:25 > 0:13:28the corner, I said to Tracy, "That's definitely Caramel," you could tell.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30The lady was genuinely upset
0:13:30 > 0:13:32that she had bought the dog for her children
0:13:32 > 0:13:34and they were going to be heartbroken.
0:13:34 > 0:13:35She gave me the dog.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39I immediately took it to Tracy and put it in the car.
0:13:39 > 0:13:40We were just over the moon.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42- LAUGHING:- Can you believe it?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45It was better than winning the lottery
0:13:45 > 0:13:48when Caramel and Lexie were reunited. It honestly was.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50It's the only thing we wanted.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Guess who we've got back!
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Can you believe it?
0:13:56 > 0:14:01When we were able to finally put Caramel back in Lexie's arms,
0:14:01 > 0:14:03it was just the best thing ever.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08- What do you say to the person that brought her back?- Thank you!- Aww!
0:14:08 > 0:14:11- It was cool.- It was fantastic, yeah, really good.
0:14:11 > 0:14:16It felt really good having her in my arms.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19I was very happy to have her back.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22All thanks to the power of ordinary people.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24So, thieves should be warned.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27When communities get together, they're a powerful force.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Once your property's stolen, it's very hard to trace,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38let alone get it back.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40The Thief Trackers undercover team
0:14:40 > 0:14:42are mounting our own surveillance operation.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Earlier on, we had a purse stolen from outside a cafe.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Yes, it's definitely gone. OK, let's go.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55The Thief Trackers team pursued the crook
0:14:55 > 0:14:57as far as Tottenham Court Road Tube station.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59I think they might have gone down the Tube.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01But the signal went dead.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05It seems the thief has used the Underground to avoid detection.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07But when they surface, the team will be waiting.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Our crime adviser, Alex Stewart,
0:15:15 > 0:15:18former undercover officer with the Met Police,
0:15:18 > 0:15:19analyses the crime scene.
0:15:19 > 0:15:24The lads who committed this offence I would say are atypical.
0:15:26 > 0:15:31I would probably be expecting them to be more engaged in a sort of
0:15:31 > 0:15:34pedal cycle-enabled snatching.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36During the daytime, you'd be more likely to get
0:15:36 > 0:15:39your Eastern European gangs. They're very organised.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42They will use spotters, they'll have two or three thieves out at a time.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46The lads haven't appeared as if they were together.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50So there's a certain distance between them.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52That would suggest to me that
0:15:52 > 0:15:55they were perhaps intending to target this area straightaway.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57Because otherwise they might have been walking
0:15:57 > 0:16:00immediately adjacent to each other and then separated when they saw
0:16:00 > 0:16:03the opportunity, so maybe they've hit this area before.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09The spotter has walked up here and, I would assume,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12probably stood in one of these doorways up here,
0:16:12 > 0:16:16so they have a good line of sight so if the police come down one end
0:16:16 > 0:16:21then they can head off before effecting any kind of offence.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Your second suspect then rather brazenly,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27but quite casually in his manner,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29walks backwards and forwards.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31He's just looking for an opportunity.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34I think one of the things that was quite interesting about it was
0:16:34 > 0:16:37the motion was very, very casual.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40He didn't come too close to her.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44He walked past and then there was a slight step in, picked the purse up,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47very fluidly, and then continued on.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50There was no run.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Even if within a minute or so she happens to look down,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58there's nothing to attract your attention to that lad.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00He has the purse probably tucked up inside there
0:17:00 > 0:17:04or down the front of his tracksuit bottoms and he's away,
0:17:04 > 0:17:07so there's not even going to be an instinctive, "It will be that guy."
0:17:10 > 0:17:13As they've come down this way, they've then...
0:17:13 > 0:17:15continued...
0:17:18 > 0:17:19..on to Hopkins Street here.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26Probably because this is quite a quiet street, it's quite discreet,
0:17:26 > 0:17:28so it may well be that they've taken the purse
0:17:28 > 0:17:30and they're now rifling through it.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32"Have we managed to get anything?
0:17:32 > 0:17:35"Is there cash in here that we can go and spend straightaway?
0:17:35 > 0:17:38"Are there credit cards that maybe we can sell on?"
0:17:38 > 0:17:41I would almost have expected the purse to be tossed by this point.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44It doesn't really make sense to me
0:17:44 > 0:17:46with suspects of this profile that they'd hang onto it.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Potentially it's because they feel that there's
0:17:48 > 0:17:51maybe some resale value in the purse itself.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57They've come up Wardour Street and on to Oxford Street.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00It looks like they've taken simply
0:18:00 > 0:18:03the most direct route to come up towards
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Tottenham Court Road station.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Public transport is the friend to these people because
0:18:08 > 0:18:11it's very, very busy, it's very cramped, it's very full.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15The Tube network will get you out of these sorts of areas very quickly.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20So now we've lost the signal on the tracker,
0:18:20 > 0:18:22so they're going to be underground at this point.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Whether they're heading off a few stops down to pop up somewhere else
0:18:26 > 0:18:30and commit other offences, or it may be that they've come in,
0:18:30 > 0:18:31they've seen an opportunity and grabbed it
0:18:31 > 0:18:33and are now heading home for the day.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Until the tracker comes above ground,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37we're not going to know what the answer to that is.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42The tracking signal eventually snaps into action.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45The purse has surfaced at Upton Park Tube in east London.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47So the team pick up the trail,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50tracking the purse to a street 20 minutes' walk away.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55According to the tracker, it reckons it's one of these houses just here,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57where the purse has gone to.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00So, quite a distance from the West End.
0:19:00 > 0:19:01OK, let's go.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04The purse is definitely here.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07The thief trackers decide to rattle the thief's cage
0:19:07 > 0:19:10by knocking on doors and asking a few questions.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14I wonder if I could talk to you for a second.
0:19:14 > 0:19:15I'm trying to find a purse.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Does it look familiar at all?
0:19:17 > 0:19:19- Sorry, sir.- No?- Sorry, no.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Does that look familiar to you? To you or anyone who lives here?
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Have you seen that purse?
0:19:24 > 0:19:26The team know who they're looking out for.
0:19:26 > 0:19:27We're looking for these lads,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30- do you happen to recognise them at all?- No idea.- No?
0:19:30 > 0:19:32I ain't seen them but if you want to try the younger kids,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36- they'll probably know who they are. - OK, mate.
0:19:36 > 0:19:37Got back to the vehicle.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40I checked the tracking software,
0:19:40 > 0:19:45and the motion alarm in the purse has just triggered straightaway.
0:19:45 > 0:19:51So it looks like whoever has the purse had got a little bit excited,
0:19:51 > 0:19:53so let's see if it moves again.
0:19:53 > 0:19:54The tactics work.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58The tracker signal tells the team the purse is on the move,
0:19:58 > 0:20:00so we've clearly ruffled some feathers.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03The thief trackers are ready to move off,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06but the signal suddenly goes dead.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09With no sign of the thieves and no tracker,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11the undercover team have to call it a day.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17So, the undercover team have tracked the stolen purse to east London,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20around ten miles away from here, where it was stolen.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Realising we may be onto them,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26it looks like they've now discovered and destroyed the tracker.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Although the thieves slipped away,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31we still have the footage of these purse snatchers in action
0:20:31 > 0:20:33without their faces blurred,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36so if the police want to take a look, they're more than welcome.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44The county of Essex is home to both
0:20:44 > 0:20:46ancient forests and modern plantations,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50providing a good living for the tree surgeons
0:20:50 > 0:20:51working in the region.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Many are small family businesses,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02and their biggest outlay is the tools of their trade.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08With 20 years in the business, this man has been hit by theft before.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10He's not taking any chances.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14We are a target,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16which is why I'm doing this anonymously,
0:21:16 > 0:21:18because I don't want to make it any easier
0:21:18 > 0:21:20for people than it is already.
0:21:23 > 0:21:24I've been going for 20 years,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27so it's 20 years of graft to get where I am now,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30so the fact that someone wants to come and take it off you
0:21:30 > 0:21:34in the night is a good motivator to stop them really.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Knowing that his equipment was desirable to thieves,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40he had already made sure that his was covered.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43The guy we rent the yard from has put CCTV in it
0:21:43 > 0:21:45and there's electric gates,
0:21:45 > 0:21:50and then obviously there's nobody there 24/7, so you have to make
0:21:50 > 0:21:52your own security arrangements really.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55But to make sure, he went one step further.
0:21:55 > 0:22:00Friends of mine have been robbed over the last 15 or 20 years,
0:22:00 > 0:22:06and they recommended certain types of tracker that would do the job.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09So he turned to Keith Walker's tracking company for help.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13When he first called and asked about trackers,
0:22:13 > 0:22:17he'd just bought himself, or recently, a brand-new machine,
0:22:17 > 0:22:19cost him thousands and thousands of pounds.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24He didn't really understand how trackers worked but I told him that
0:22:24 > 0:22:28it would give him peace of mind, it would give him a watchman,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31it would give him somebody 24 hours a day
0:22:31 > 0:22:34watching where his equipment was.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37The machine he had bought was an expensive wood chipper.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40It's £19,500 worth of equipment.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43It's designed to be mobile because we're mobile
0:22:43 > 0:22:48so the downside of that is someone can take it off you just as quickly as you can take it to work!
0:22:48 > 0:22:52So you have to think from the thief's point of view,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56"How am I going to get rid of this bit of kit?" and try and put themselves in
0:22:56 > 0:22:59their shoes and see how you can defend yourself against it.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03You can set up movement parameters so if the thing moves
0:23:03 > 0:23:06you get an alert to your mobile or e-mail.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09You can be asleep, middle of the night, you get an alert.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14Now switch on your monitoring panel, whether it's on your smartphone,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17PC, laptop or tablet,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21and you can now actually follow live
0:23:21 > 0:23:24that piece of equipment with the tracker on it
0:23:24 > 0:23:27as it's on its way.
0:23:27 > 0:23:28You know exactly where it is,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31you know how fast it's going and you'll know when it's stopped,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33you'll know when it's gone into a building,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35you'll know exactly where it is.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39So it's like you're actually sitting on top of the machinery.
0:23:39 > 0:23:40With the tracker installed,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43it wasn't long before it was called into action.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Me and my son came in after a particularly heavy day's work
0:23:56 > 0:23:59and had dinner, literally had a shower,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03just put my feet up and then the motion sensor went off.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06I just said, "I'm going up the yard to check it out.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08"I'll be back in a minute." As I drove in,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11I noticed that the cameras had all been pushed up
0:24:11 > 0:24:13and the doors of the container were open,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16so straightaway I realised I was being robbed.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24So I got down to the gate,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28phoned the police and phoned up a few friends who are local,
0:24:28 > 0:24:30who could come and help me.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34And one of them came and he swept through the yard
0:24:34 > 0:24:35while we were at the gate
0:24:35 > 0:24:37and said, "There's no-one in there.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39"And you've been cleaned out."
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Thieves had broken in, ransacking the lock-up.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49The thing is, after 20 years of graft
0:24:49 > 0:24:52to earn the money to get that equipment,
0:24:52 > 0:24:54I'm not going to sit and watch them drive out of the yard with it.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57I just thought, "Right, let's get 'em."
0:24:59 > 0:25:01The police arrived, and armed with his mobile phone,
0:25:01 > 0:25:03he joined the chase,
0:25:03 > 0:25:05following the GPS signal from the tracker in the wood chipper.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09They were about ten miles away so
0:25:09 > 0:25:12then it was a case of catching up with them.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Then it started moving towards us.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21We were driving quite fast and it turned off just before we got to it.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24At one stage, I think we were 200 metres away from him.
0:25:26 > 0:25:27He was stationary.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29We drove past him, we drove round.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34But there was no vehicle there and that's when I realised
0:25:34 > 0:25:37he'd thrown the tracking device into the River Chelmer.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41We were following a floating tracker.
0:25:46 > 0:25:47If a tracker, for instance,
0:25:47 > 0:25:51is in something that goes missing at one in the morning and you don't
0:25:51 > 0:25:54know until eight in the morning, that history is recorded.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59You know the route it took and you know exactly when it stopped
0:25:59 > 0:26:01and you know exactly when it moved.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05So they backtracked to the previous location
0:26:05 > 0:26:07where the tracker last stopped.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11When we turned up at the stationary location,
0:26:11 > 0:26:14there were quite a lot of industrial units there.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16We had to narrow down which one it was,
0:26:16 > 0:26:21so we asked some questions and we deduced it was probably
0:26:21 > 0:26:24at this one particular place.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27We then had a little look around,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30and round the back of a sort of barn building
0:26:30 > 0:26:32we did find my wood chipper
0:26:32 > 0:26:37and another vehicle which was loaded up with all my tools as well.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44I was a bit concerned, because there was only two of us in there.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50We just put the chipper back together and by then
0:26:50 > 0:26:52my son and a friend of m ine also turned up.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55We took the wood chipper back and the police
0:26:55 > 0:26:58took the vehicle with all the tools in away
0:26:58 > 0:27:00to do some forensic tests on it.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04They were quite pleased and they said
0:27:04 > 0:27:06they'd recovered vehicles before,
0:27:06 > 0:27:10but he said he'd never recovered any plant with a tracker before,
0:27:10 > 0:27:12so it was a first for him.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15It couldn't have gone better for us.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17However, this wasn't the end of the trail.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21In the morning,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24I checked my tracker and I was still receiving a signal
0:27:24 > 0:27:27further downstream from the bridge.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30So my son
0:27:30 > 0:27:32and a friend of mine got canoes
0:27:32 > 0:27:38and paddled up the river with iPhones and tracked the tracker.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44And managed to find it floating in the reeds, and it was still working,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46which is pretty amazing.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48We were gobsmacked with this.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50The thing was actually floating down the river when it was retrieved.
0:27:52 > 0:27:57This was not a waterproof model, it was a water-resistant model,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59but, hey, that worked!
0:27:59 > 0:28:03Stuff like that, it pays off. It's definitely paid off with us.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Through quite a small investment,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08we'd got everything back that had taken me 20 years
0:28:08 > 0:28:11to earn the money to put together.