A monitoring company reports that it foiled a daylight raid at Dudley Safes, Dudley, West Midlands when a thief used a skip lorry to ram the safe manufacturer’s gates in an attempt to steal a skip of scrap metal worth £1,700. Operators at Cougar Monitoring’s 24-hour monitoring centre responded to a CCTV alarm activation and called police at once. The police arrived at the scene in less than five minutes and blocked the thief’s escape route with a patrol car. A man, who was described as a recovering heroin addict, has since appeared in court.
He was awaiting sentencing for the attempted theft of the skip and its contents, driving while disqualified, and driving a vehicle without an MOT.
A Dudley Safes spokesman said: “We’ve used Cougar Monitoring for a number of years now and have always been impressed by their efficiency and professionalism, but this incident really underlines their value to any business. We’d also like to say a big thank you to West Midlands Police, whose response time was superb. We’ve now put a poster with a photograph of the thieves being arrested outside the premises warning other would-be thieves that Cougar is watching them.”
Established in 1996 by two senior ex-police officers, Cougar offers manned guarding, monitored CCTV equipment, key holding, emergency response, and mobile patrols. More information on the company can be found at its website at www.cougarmonitoring.com.
