Ghazala Gulzar and her husband Hasham woke up at their home in Northwood Avenue on the morning of July 2, completely unaware that their BMW X3 had been taken from their drive during the night.
They made the discovery as Hasham was about to drop their six-year-old son to school, and Ghazala and her two-year-old daughter stood by the door to say goodbye.
Ghazala said: “We woke up in the morning around 7.30am and our blinds were closed. It was just as my husband was about to go outside and drop our son to school.
“We just opened the door and the car wasn’t there. To be honest with you, it was a total moment of panic.
“My husband was literally so shocked he was holding onto his heart.”
The young family has lived in the area since January 2022 and went to pick out the car together.
Ghazala said: “This is our first expensive and proper family car that we’ve bought. We’ve been saving for a really long time because we didn’t finance this or anything. We put our own money down.
“My son’s pick-ups and drop-offs were associated with the car. Even to get to family and stuff, we were entirely dependent on the car.”
The 29-year-old mum-of-two said she has struggled to get to the nearest supermarket to buy the correct nappy size for her daughter since the car was stolen.
The theft was captured on CCTV, revealing that the car was broken into and driven away in under a minute.
Ghazala said: “You can literally see them coming [and] in 30 seconds driving off with the car. Within that time obviously removing the steering lock, getting the car started and leaving our road.
“I found two other neighbours that live within this Hornchurch area who, two days before ours, their BMWs got stolen as well.
“In the area, and even within Romford as a whole, we’ve been hearing about people’s cars being stolen almost every day.
“This has been a problem for a while. This is not a new problem. I think everyone is kind of used to it now, they don’t know what to do. They just feel so helpless.”
The incident has left the couple exasperated about what they should do next, even forcing them to contemplate moving out of the area.
Ghazala said: “It is a big shock to our family and we really don’t know how we’re going to be moving forward from here.
“That car cost us almost £30,000. That’s been our savings you know? Holidays that we haven’t gone on, things that we haven’t bought over the last year, even sacrifices that my children have made.”
Ghazala revealed they have now purchased car security bollards for their drive, as well as car key protection pouches.
“Until the police take some strict action against these people, I don’t see that these thieves are going to stop. It’s really disappointing.”
In the days following the theft, Ghazala says police have dropped some leaflets in the community and an officer spoke to the family on July 4.
But she thinks more must be done, saying: “Prevention is better than doing these kinds of things after the car is gone. They themselves have said to me that it’s quite unlikely I’ll be getting my car back.
“This has left me and my children traumatised. Before buying another car in this area, unless there is safety measures and stuff, I would be thinking many, many times.
“The trauma that me and my family have suffered – that’s not going to go away with insurance paying me any kind of money and even in the future us buying a car.”
According to the Metropolitan Police, vehicle theft in Havering has dropped by more than ten per cent since the start of April this year.
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Ch Insp Charlie Routley said: “Tackling car crime is a priority in Havering and we work around-the-clock to prevent thefts and bring offenders to justice.
“Our safer neighbourhood teams patrol car theft hotspots, taking a community approach to intelligence-gathering and this has contributed to an 11.5 per cent drop in vehicle theft in the borough since the start of April.
“We use a variety of tactics to disrupt car criminals.
“Last month, we busted an illegal chop shop in Havering, where stolen cars were being stripped for their parts. We are also targeting boot sales, where criminals often launder parts from stolen vehicles.”
