‘Burglar’ arrest after solicitor’s Belsize Village streets chase

Published: 19 August, 2010
by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS

THE quick thinking of a solicitor who bravely ­followed two alleged burglars before calling the police to report them led to one of them being arrested.

The Belsize Village resident, who works at a  City law firm, told how he returned home on Monday at around 8pm to find two men “milling around” outside his neighbour’s home.

When he approached them to ask if they were lost, they told him his neighbour had been burgled and pointed to a smashed window.

The solicitor, 32, then went inside his own home to ring the police – when he came back out the pair “legged it” after he questioned them again.

He said: “I got my car keys and followed them. I called the police – I had 999 on my speakerphone – and described their movements around the streets. They ran for a bit and thought they’d lost me – I don’t think they realised I was in the car at first – but then they got a suspicion they were being followed and ran into a garden in Perceval Avenue to hide.”

The solicitor then “pretended” not to have seen them and drove on to Haverstock Hill to lie in wait and alert the police.

Moments later the two men emerged from their hiding place and an unmarked police car pulled up alongside them. The men ran in opposite directions, one up Haverstock Hill, the other along Aspern Grove. A 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of burglary and has been bailed. The second suspect escaped.

The solicitor that said while his neighbours are usually community-minded, he was disappointed that they did not act this time, particularly as the men had been spotted in the area some hours earlier.

“It’s extraordinary that someone heard glass breaking in the middle of the day in broad daylight and did not do anything,” he said. 

A member of the Belsize Village Association,  who asked not to be named, said: “These particular burglars hung around for three hours and even had a drink on a neighbour’s doorstep before attempting the robbery. People need to be vigilant and suspicious of strangers.”

The suspected burglary follows a string of incidents in Belsize recently, including a series of robberies at gunpoint.

Sergeant Ian Gilks, who is in charge of Belsize ward Safer Neighbourhoods team, said that despite some recent crimes, the area generally enjoys one of Camden’s lowest crime rates. 

A police spokeswoman said: “Police in Camden are investigating a burglary in NW3 on Monday 16th August 2010. 

“At approximately 20.10 hours, a 32-year-old man called police stating he had just disturbed two men he believed to be burglars. The witness followed the two men discreetly and provided descriptions of their clothing.

“Officers in plain clothes saw the two suspects near the petrol station on Haverstock Hill NW3. The suspects ran away in different directions and officers gave chase. A 22-year-old man was detained near Lawn Road NW3 and arrested on suspicion of burglary. He was taken to a Camden police station and has been bailed to return to a police station on a date in September. The second suspect escaped. He is described as a black male aged 25 to 30 years old, about 5ft10 and casually dressed. Enquiries continue.”