£15,000 Cash Reward Offered For The Recovery Of Stolen James Bond Guns
ppw3o6r
Great BritainPosts: 2,280MI6 Agent
Hi guys, as the BBC's Crime Watch failed to mention this little detail the following has just been posted on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/john.reynolds.338211/posts/10216453388280072
£10,000 Cash Reward offered for the recovery of stolen James Bond guns ....hand me the guns I hand you the cash!
It is said that crime does not pay however it has now been 6 months since the guns were stolen during a break in on 23rd March 2020. The value of these iconic weapons is not as high as the media would have you believe because the £100,000 quoted is their estimated auction value. Their actual cost price was £25,000 for Roger Moore’s Smith & Wesson .44 magnum Model 29-2 revolver, SN: N60304, £6500 for Roger Moore’s Walther PPK, SN: 146872, £6000 for Halle Berry’s Beretta Cheetah (Lot # 269), SN: H02641Y, £10,800 for Halle Berry’s Beretta Tomcat (Lot # 273), SN: DAA264306, and £5040 for Rachael Grant’s Llama Especial (Lot # 267), SN: 271915, bringing a grand total of £53,340. A 20% cash recovery reward is being offered on their original cost price. These values can be checked against Christie’s "Guns of James Bond” auction results from December 5th 2006, indeed 3 of the guns still had their Christie’s auction tags attached. Their value or lack of on the secondary market is negligible. All 5 weapons are recorded on The Stolen Weapons database with both UK proof houses and all reputable UK deactivated weapons dealers, film industry armourers and the Bond production company. All 5 weapons come with extensive documentation from the armourers who originally supplied them along with UK deactivation certificates. Without this paper trail reselling them openly would be difficult to achieve a sizable windfall. Because they were ultimately being gifted to them as “a living will” I had requested that The Royal Armouries offer a reward to recover the weapons but as a publicly funded establishment they declined.
Without the movie connection a deactivated 6.5” barrel Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver is worth around £750, a deactivated Walther PPK is worth £350, a Beretta Cheetah around £500 and a Beretta Tomcat around £350 and these would come with deactivation certificates. The value of a deactivated Llama Especial is unknown. As some may have seen on BBC's Crime Watch? the frame only of the Spanish Llama Especial has been recovered by Police so the deactivated barrel and top slide are still out there and will still qualify for a reward upon their recovery.
8 months ago, the Police asked me if I was in a position to offer a reward? But after the spare car keys were stolen (the objective of the break in) and my shelling out £3700 to secure said car with new door and ignition locks, new coded keys and remote fobs plus £700 for damage to the rear door to the property (neither of which were covered by insurance) the proverbial pot was empty!
The Police campaign was to make these weapons too hot to handle therefore If while out walking the dog? You found them in a bag in a forest or in a bag in a river or a bag in a landfill site? I do not care. If you stole them from my property? I do not care (yeah right!). No questions will be asked. I just need to recover them and possibly restore them? so they can be delivered to The Royal Armouries in Leeds or a similar venue, where they should have been when the home invasion occurred. If they have been left open to the elements or left in a damp environment for 8 months? Then the chrome plating on the revolver may have started to lift and flake off like a rusty car bumper, the blued finish on the PPK may have started to look like brown sludge and the stainless steel/plated finish on the two Beretta pistols may have become stained/milky white in appearance? Up until the time of the theft they were only handled with curatorial white cloth gloves to protect their screen patina which I guess now is completely buggered so recovery is against the clock! If like the Llama they have been broken down for parts? Then those even rusty parts still have a high recovery value. Regrettably because they were waiting to effectively permanently go into a museum, they were not insured so they are still my property not an insurance company's hence I can guarantee no entrapment, “no questions asked”. This is not a victimless crime. Ten years of my life went down the crapper when they were stolen. Ten years of research to find them and write about them, ten years of my life to get the funds together to secure them and barely a year of my life to physically own them or at least be their temporary keeper. The Evening Standard quoted “the owner is devastated at the loss”….. He still is!!, however this is also a loss to the British Film Industry and technically a loss to the heritage of the Bond production company EON Productions Ltd.
To put a face on what otherwise appeared to be a victimless crime? The Police Media Unit asked me to speak to a number of chosen periodicals on the agreement an alias be used (author Mark Hazard, the author, researcher and photographer of The 007 Magazine Special “The Most Famous Gun in the World” with design by Robert Gritten, a ten year project to research, track down, catalogue and secure for posterity all the firearms used in over 50 years of James Bond movies) of which those I spoke to initially agreed to. Unfortunately, The British Broadcasting Corporation who I did not speak to utilised the basic no thrills Police media report, however they named me and with other periodicals publishing the road I live in this pretty much painted a target on my back forcing me to empty the house contents into hopefully safe storage with the deactivated guns going to a London based armoury. How the hell is this in the Public Interest? This is very dangerous and very careless reporting! I complained to said News broadcaster but they did not even bother acknowledging my communication which was sent on their own website. Unfortunately, the other periodicals then followed suit thinking this was okay? How to kick you firmly in the nads when you are already well and truly down!! …. And now 6 months later as the media circus kicks off yet again certain periodicals have again chosen to publish the road I live in. WHY FFS???
My home was targeted because of the car parked in the front drive. Because of a medical condition which makes it unlikely that I'll ever need it? that car was purchased from the proceeds of a cashed in personal pension plan after HMRC took their chunk for taking a pension in one hit. The weapons were bequeathed to The Royal Armouries because of that medical condition. If I’m talking to the gang who broke in? Then you will know how to contact me, on a one on one basis with your representative only. A photo of the guns/gun parts? against a current newspaper will get the ball rolling or you can hand them into your local Police station c/o D.I. Paul Ridley with your contact details or get a friend not connected to the crime to hand them in or contact BBC Crime Watch to claim the reward or of course you can hold onto them and await a potential knock on the door and receive a very different less profitable reward!
Two media inaccuracies which I would like to address are I do not have or have ever owned Oddjob’s bowler hat. It was sold through Christie’s in September 1998 as Lot # 235 for £62,000 and was purchased by EON Productions Ltd, the production company who make the James Bond movies. Apparently this information that I have one in my possession came from a source close to the investigation! I do have an off the shelf Jaxton & James Victorian top hat as used by Daniel Craig in SPECTRE costing £50. Big difference! Not very Harold Sakata, more like Harold Steptoe! A number of papers reported there being 60 guns in the property including those stolen where in fact there were 20 deactivated weapons including those stolen. The remaining being harmless solid rubber, resin and fibreglass stunt movie weapons used in fight sequences. The in depth details of what stunt weapons are were supplied to the media but I guess not as sensational as just saying "60 weapons!", which 6 months later they are still choosing not to correct!
Please feel free to share this post on Social Media where it may do the most good. Thank you.
John Reynolds
The recovered rusty frame of Peaceful Fountains of Desire's Llama Especial, amazingly with the magazine still in place!
https://www.facebook.com/john.reynolds.338211/posts/10216453388280072
£10,000 Cash Reward offered for the recovery of stolen James Bond guns ....hand me the guns I hand you the cash!
It is said that crime does not pay however it has now been 6 months since the guns were stolen during a break in on 23rd March 2020. The value of these iconic weapons is not as high as the media would have you believe because the £100,000 quoted is their estimated auction value. Their actual cost price was £25,000 for Roger Moore’s Smith & Wesson .44 magnum Model 29-2 revolver, SN: N60304, £6500 for Roger Moore’s Walther PPK, SN: 146872, £6000 for Halle Berry’s Beretta Cheetah (Lot # 269), SN: H02641Y, £10,800 for Halle Berry’s Beretta Tomcat (Lot # 273), SN: DAA264306, and £5040 for Rachael Grant’s Llama Especial (Lot # 267), SN: 271915, bringing a grand total of £53,340. A 20% cash recovery reward is being offered on their original cost price. These values can be checked against Christie’s "Guns of James Bond” auction results from December 5th 2006, indeed 3 of the guns still had their Christie’s auction tags attached. Their value or lack of on the secondary market is negligible. All 5 weapons are recorded on The Stolen Weapons database with both UK proof houses and all reputable UK deactivated weapons dealers, film industry armourers and the Bond production company. All 5 weapons come with extensive documentation from the armourers who originally supplied them along with UK deactivation certificates. Without this paper trail reselling them openly would be difficult to achieve a sizable windfall. Because they were ultimately being gifted to them as “a living will” I had requested that The Royal Armouries offer a reward to recover the weapons but as a publicly funded establishment they declined.
Without the movie connection a deactivated 6.5” barrel Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver is worth around £750, a deactivated Walther PPK is worth £350, a Beretta Cheetah around £500 and a Beretta Tomcat around £350 and these would come with deactivation certificates. The value of a deactivated Llama Especial is unknown. As some may have seen on BBC's Crime Watch? the frame only of the Spanish Llama Especial has been recovered by Police so the deactivated barrel and top slide are still out there and will still qualify for a reward upon their recovery.
8 months ago, the Police asked me if I was in a position to offer a reward? But after the spare car keys were stolen (the objective of the break in) and my shelling out £3700 to secure said car with new door and ignition locks, new coded keys and remote fobs plus £700 for damage to the rear door to the property (neither of which were covered by insurance) the proverbial pot was empty!
The Police campaign was to make these weapons too hot to handle therefore If while out walking the dog? You found them in a bag in a forest or in a bag in a river or a bag in a landfill site? I do not care. If you stole them from my property? I do not care (yeah right!). No questions will be asked. I just need to recover them and possibly restore them? so they can be delivered to The Royal Armouries in Leeds or a similar venue, where they should have been when the home invasion occurred. If they have been left open to the elements or left in a damp environment for 8 months? Then the chrome plating on the revolver may have started to lift and flake off like a rusty car bumper, the blued finish on the PPK may have started to look like brown sludge and the stainless steel/plated finish on the two Beretta pistols may have become stained/milky white in appearance? Up until the time of the theft they were only handled with curatorial white cloth gloves to protect their screen patina which I guess now is completely buggered so recovery is against the clock! If like the Llama they have been broken down for parts? Then those even rusty parts still have a high recovery value. Regrettably because they were waiting to effectively permanently go into a museum, they were not insured so they are still my property not an insurance company's hence I can guarantee no entrapment, “no questions asked”. This is not a victimless crime. Ten years of my life went down the crapper when they were stolen. Ten years of research to find them and write about them, ten years of my life to get the funds together to secure them and barely a year of my life to physically own them or at least be their temporary keeper. The Evening Standard quoted “the owner is devastated at the loss”….. He still is!!, however this is also a loss to the British Film Industry and technically a loss to the heritage of the Bond production company EON Productions Ltd.
To put a face on what otherwise appeared to be a victimless crime? The Police Media Unit asked me to speak to a number of chosen periodicals on the agreement an alias be used (author Mark Hazard, the author, researcher and photographer of The 007 Magazine Special “The Most Famous Gun in the World” with design by Robert Gritten, a ten year project to research, track down, catalogue and secure for posterity all the firearms used in over 50 years of James Bond movies) of which those I spoke to initially agreed to. Unfortunately, The British Broadcasting Corporation who I did not speak to utilised the basic no thrills Police media report, however they named me and with other periodicals publishing the road I live in this pretty much painted a target on my back forcing me to empty the house contents into hopefully safe storage with the deactivated guns going to a London based armoury. How the hell is this in the Public Interest? This is very dangerous and very careless reporting! I complained to said News broadcaster but they did not even bother acknowledging my communication which was sent on their own website. Unfortunately, the other periodicals then followed suit thinking this was okay? How to kick you firmly in the nads when you are already well and truly down!! …. And now 6 months later as the media circus kicks off yet again certain periodicals have again chosen to publish the road I live in. WHY FFS???
My home was targeted because of the car parked in the front drive. Because of a medical condition which makes it unlikely that I'll ever need it? that car was purchased from the proceeds of a cashed in personal pension plan after HMRC took their chunk for taking a pension in one hit. The weapons were bequeathed to The Royal Armouries because of that medical condition. If I’m talking to the gang who broke in? Then you will know how to contact me, on a one on one basis with your representative only. A photo of the guns/gun parts? against a current newspaper will get the ball rolling or you can hand them into your local Police station c/o D.I. Paul Ridley with your contact details or get a friend not connected to the crime to hand them in or contact BBC Crime Watch to claim the reward or of course you can hold onto them and await a potential knock on the door and receive a very different less profitable reward!
Two media inaccuracies which I would like to address are I do not have or have ever owned Oddjob’s bowler hat. It was sold through Christie’s in September 1998 as Lot # 235 for £62,000 and was purchased by EON Productions Ltd, the production company who make the James Bond movies. Apparently this information that I have one in my possession came from a source close to the investigation! I do have an off the shelf Jaxton & James Victorian top hat as used by Daniel Craig in SPECTRE costing £50. Big difference! Not very Harold Sakata, more like Harold Steptoe! A number of papers reported there being 60 guns in the property including those stolen where in fact there were 20 deactivated weapons including those stolen. The remaining being harmless solid rubber, resin and fibreglass stunt movie weapons used in fight sequences. The in depth details of what stunt weapons are were supplied to the media but I guess not as sensational as just saying "60 weapons!", which 6 months later they are still choosing not to correct!
Please feel free to share this post on Social Media where it may do the most good. Thank you.
John Reynolds
The recovered rusty frame of Peaceful Fountains of Desire's Llama Especial, amazingly with the magazine still in place!
Comments
The thieves would be idiots not to return them and get the 'Heat' off their backs while getting a 'reward' they most assuredly do not deserve!!!!!!
--Ed
the spyboys Facebook page
Regarding the media companies publishing your details, I'm no lawyer but I think there must be a breach of Data Protection and/or privacy laws somewhere in there, so may be worth pursuing legally (if you have the emotional energy). You may be entitled to some compensation which would be better than nothing.
Warmest wishes and good luck.
The Bond Vivant - Twitter
The Bond Vivant - Facebook
The Bond Vivant - YouTube
I really hope that these are returned to you - and in as good a condition as possible.
It’s horrible when something like this happens...but for it to happen to you when you have poured your heart and soul (and cash!) into saving/preserving these items (and many others) so we can still get to see them...really annoys the F*@k out of me. X-( X-(
Just posted on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/john.reynolds.338211/posts/10217480074506586
It has been a year since the home invasion took place which resulted in the theft of five screen used James Bond guns with a combined purchase price tag of £54,000. Regrettably the deactivated weapons were not insured because they were on standby to be submitted to The Royal Armouries in Leeds as part of a permanent exhibit of movie weaponry.
Despite the offer of "a substantial reward for information leading to their recovery" (it is unlawful to say how much but it is a considerably larger amount than previously reported in the media 6 months ago!), they appear to have vanished along with those who stole them without a trace?
I had hoped that a "personality" from the British Film Industry or Bond Family may have seen my Facebook appeal and added their name and voice to said appeal to recover the weapons for posterity, they are British Film Industry heritage after all. I do not use the term "Celebrity" because that tends to refer to an individual who is famous for being famous in today's society! A personality is Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, George Lazenby, Halle Berry (2 of the guns were hers!) or Sir Roger's daughter Deborah who one would hope may just want to see her late Father's screen inventory from his tenure as James Bond exhibited for posterity? Including those stolen, I had managed to source nearly all of the major weapons used in Sir Roger's Bond movies for exhibition which is no mean feat!
This is not just a collector trying to recover his stolen property although technically it is, it is a collector and researcher trying to recover iconic movie artefacts for posterity who wishes to exhibit said pieces so all can enjoy them long after he has gone and has taken major legal endorsed steps to do just that if they are ever recovered? Like the weapons themselves their documentation is also bequeathed so if they are not recovered in my lifetime? When they do surface said documentation will allow The Royal Armouries to finally take charge of them although possibly somewhat behind schedule?
007 The Armoury, the exhibition will be going ahead in 2022, the franchise’s 60th anniversary and it is my hope that with the support of the British Film Industry perhaps will include “the stolen guns” so British Film Industry .... over to you!
It’s heartbreaking to hear that you’ve still not had these returned, or that their theft hasn’t garnered more publicity 😢
I hope these surface soon and in good condition 🤞🏻
Sorry to hear this.
Have you reached out to any of the Bond social media or You Tube influencers at all? I would have thought they could do a feature on the theft, or maybe an interview with you about it, in an effort to reach a wider audience than here.
Some of the content is desperate to say the least, so this would not only be an improvement on the usual but provide a public service at the same time...
I did put out a Youtube appeal but offering a reward to recover my property (addressing those who may have stole it?) was deemed to be unlawful by the Police so the video was removed. My hope is someone like Daniel or Pierce or Timothy or George may hear of the appeal and decide to support it personally. I contacted Bondstars who represent Deborah Moore but they did not even bother replying. Hopefully the Bond community will remember that lack of support when the pandemic is a distant memory and yes this is as desperate as it sounds. I was and am devastated at the loss because this truly is 10 years of research and investment down the crapper! it's heart breaking on a number of different reasons! This break in killed The Modest Collection!
https://www.facebook.com/john.reynolds.338211/posts/10217480074506586
It has been a year since the home invasion took place which resulted in the theft of five screen used James Bond guns with a combined purchase price tag of £54,000. Regrettably the deactivated weapons were not insured because they were on standby to be submitted to The Royal Armouries in Leeds as part of a permanent exhibit of movie weaponry.
Despite the offer of "a substantial reward for information leading to their recovery" (it is unlawful to say how much but it is a considerably larger amount than previously reported in the media 6 months ago!), they appear to have vanished along with those who stole them without a trace?
I had hoped that a "personality" from the British Film Industry or Bond Family may have seen my Facebook appeal and added their name and voice to said appeal to recover the weapons for posterity, they are British Film Industry heritage after all. I do not use the term "Celebrity" because that tends to refer to an individual who is famous for being famous in today's society! A personality is Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, George Lazenby, Halle Berry (2 of the guns were hers!) or Sir Roger's daughter Deborah who one would hope may just want to see her late Father's screen inventory from his tenure as James Bond exhibited for posterity? Including those stolen, I had managed to source nearly all of the major weapons used in Sir Roger's Bond movies for exhibition which is no mean feat!
This is not just a collector trying to recover his stolen property although technically it is, it is a collector and researcher trying to recover iconic movie artefacts for posterity who wishes to exhibit said pieces so all can enjoy them long after he has gone and has taken major legal endorsed steps to do just that if they are ever recovered? Like the weapons themselves their documentation is also bequeathed so if they are not recovered in my lifetime? When they do surface said documentation will allow The Royal Armouries to finally take charge of them although possibly somewhat behind schedule?
007 The Armoury, the exhibition will be going ahead in 2022, the franchise’s 60th anniversary and it is my hope that with the support of the British Film Industry perhaps will include “the stolen guns” so British Film Industry .... over to you!
I admit I don't know much about this story, I just scrolled through some of the comments. Was it a random break in, or do you think the guns were targeted? If the thieves didn't know what they had, they probably pawned the guns off for some quick cash. If they did know what they had, they probably still have them. If they sold them, they must have done so through illegal channels which at this point is probably next to impossible to trace. Either way, good luck with the recovery effort.
They broke in for the car keys (which were hanging up by the front door), while turning the house over they came upon the spare car keys and the cased guns which were in the same room although in a drawer so not in plain view. The Police campaign was to make these guns too hot to handle however as one gun (the Llama) was broken up and dumped this may possibly have been the fait of all of them? The Llama still had its Christies auction tab attached as did the two Berettas so a quick Google search would have shown it to be a £5,400 deactivated movie gun!
The current issue is as a "no one" for the media the story is dead unless someone with some British Film Industry clout supports the appeal and in turn reignites said story. I've doubled the reward for "information leading to the recovery of the stolen guns" but without media/British Film Industry support, that information is very unlikely to be seen by whoever currently retains said weapons?
I think the problem you've run into is liberal media. They are going to distance themselves from that topic and avoid it like the corona virus which I've always found ironic and hypocritical since Hollywood loves to produce movies like John Wick. Most have the belief that guns are evil instead of the belief that it's the hearts that operate them and use them for evil purposes. The reality is that there are many gun owners out there, a great many that will never use them for a crime. Those using them for good or protection greatly outweigh those using them for evil. But it's a hot topic. The media never likes to publish heroic stories of brave and altruistic gun-owners stopping crime or saving the day. They only want to cast a negative light on the topic and magnify any senseless act of violence caused by them. I believe Hitler outlawed fire-arms before the holocaust; had he not been able to do so, perhaps things would have gone differently. History has a way of repeating itself. My hope is that the powers that be would start taking a long, hard look at legislation before quickly passing executive orders that sound good at the moment, I don't mean to offend anyone who has a different political view than me on the topic, so I'll switch gears. Long story short, considering the topic, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the media or Hollywood to step up and help out. Best of luck to you.
Donk, I feel that as these guns are deactivated and only have value as collectible props, there's a bit of a paradox here - your best bet for awareness about their theft is to spread the word through the Bond and collecting community, perhaps asking influencers with large followings to share your story and inform their audiences.
The problem then becomes that, as these items are only of real value to the Bond collecting community, those influencers are then letting the entire community - scrupulous and otherwise - know that these things are out there, and that they can possibly be quietly obtained for their own collections. I know that's a cynical point of view, but I think it's a definite possibility.
As an aside I will say that in the video that you posted it was quite difficult to hear you clearly, to the point of distraction, and I wonder if a more polished plea might be a bit stickier (hence my wondering about pulling in some influencers).
You're a great asset to this community and I am hoping this nightmare turns around for you.
I agree with you Gymkata that there should be much more scrupulous background checks, but more so when tips are called in about specific individuals displaying psychotic traits, that local law enforcement would take these threats more seriously. There are almost always warning signs that get flagged and reported. If it's not guns it's bombs, if it's not bombs it's knives, if it's not knives, it's box-cutters. Look at how much damage and how many lives were lost in 911. Back to my point though, why else would the British Media and film industry remain silent and do absolutely nothing to help this poor gentleman out if not for the subject matter? That's actually a question, because I can't think of any other reason.
Do they usually get involved in stolen property cases? I don’t recall the Bond actors getting involved in the DB5 theft recovery, for example.
it’s a heartbreaking thing to happen though: I was so sorry to hear of it, Donk.
Thank you all for your kind comments which are appreciated. I'm hoping someone will see the Facebook post (after twiddling their thumbs in lockdown for a year) and think "they" would like to put their voice to the appeal, official or otherwise. Currently PC? probably not but this collection had been amassed over a large period of time for posterity not as a personal collection. If I drop dead tomorrow certain beneficiaries will benefit, one of which has offered no support whatsoever which cuts like a knife as I had been in discussions with them for close on two years prior to the home invasion. As for the Youtube video, it crossed the line by offering to meet the gang and offer them gratuities for their evening's work on the second day of lockdown! In law you can offer a reward but not suggest terms of recovery hence said video was removed ....who knew? Going forward, I need a personality who may have used these weapons on screen or a known relative/personality in their own right of those no longer with us to stand up and say ..... I support this appeal because these properties need to be recovered and exhibited for future movie going generations or something similar!
Can MrE please move his gun talk and conspiracy theories elsewhere?
I mean, the sentence, that the Holocaust could have been stopped if the Nazis would not have banned private gun ownership! Really??
I thought that I‘ve heard it all but this is an entirely new level of crazy!
As for Donk and I really feel sorry about him and about what happened:
When the case was „New News“, the BBC reported ( and I know that Donk had many issues with the reporting of) it.
Now that months have gone, no one will pick up „Old News“ unless there is a new development ( such as a Celebrity voicing up or others).
So the nonsense about biased media „having an agenda“ is just nonsense!
It‘s just how media work in real life!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I think it might be a stretch to get a film star onboard: this is a private and legal matter involving the police and they'd probably steer well clear of anything involving legal matters (imagine if they got involved on a case where it turned out the item was stolen in the first place or something: just too risky to go near anything like that), so I think it might be futile to pin your hopes on that. Imagine the amount of enquiries they get from charities and the like, I'm afraid this is unlikely to get near the top of the list.
Have you gone for all of the social media outlets? Reddit and Facebook have a few, very busy Bond hubs which would hopefully disseminate your news, plus there are obviously a few people with big fan followings on Instagram and YouTube it might be worth appealing to to feature your cause on their channels. Or even approach that daytime Crimewatch show on the mornings on BBC1: it's the sort of thing which might raise their interest- I saw they had the insurers who were chasing the missing Goldfinger DB5 on a few months back.
Oh the BBC ...where to start? they chose to name me for no bloody reason whatsoever. Most definitely not in the public interest! After 6 months the break in did receive around 3 minutes on Crime Watch @ 9.15 in the morning. I agreed to the programme so they could announce the reward but they overlooked that little detail for some nonsense about a vehicle carrying out surveillance where in reality where the vehicle was parked there is no way in hell it could have seen my house plus it had previously been ruled out of the investigation.
I complained to the BBC for naming me which effectively painted a target on my back which of course received no reply plus I offered to appear on a future edition of Crime Watch to correct certain inaccuracies which also received no reply.
Simply put back in March 2020 this was a big story which received international coverage. After the Crime Watch programme some but no all tabloids went with the car carrying out surveillance story and got egg on their faces with their readers so perhaps understandably do not want to take it any further? Only The Times covered in print the offer of a reward on page 15 where I believe the original story was on page 3. The Mail Online also covered the story. I have personally contacted the main tabloids and have found that of those which "bothered" to reply, they would only take the story forward if a "name" supported the appeal. To the media, a no one offering X amount which is now XX to recover his property is not a story or at least not one which they feel will sell papers!
Did you ask not to be named? I feel like they usually name the victims don't they? Your name is viewable on the post at the top of the page, by the way (sorry, I missed the bit where you mention Crime Watch: I didn't realise you'd already been featured).
I know what you mean about the papers not thinking it's much of a story, but, well, you're right really. You got quite a bit more coverage than most folks who get stuff stolen I guess, so that's a good thing.
I guess there's no way insurance companies would take on a recovery job for a certain slice of the items if they recover them (if that's something you'd be willing to), or anything like that?
Higgins,
you are absolutely right...what in the world was I thinking? How could the Jewish people have possibly defended themselves if they had the right to take up arms and each household owned guns when the Nazi's came to take them away to concentration camps? Seriously, I have a dizzying intellect. And I'm sure Hitler placed the ban because guns are evil, not because the people are easier to subdue. That must be it.
To adore James Bond but loathe guns seems very contradictory to me.
I'll move this talk to any other thread. I'll even open one up if you want. You seem like you'd be fun to debate with, that is if you can keep your cool and not go ape s*** for longer than 2 seconds.
MrE. This thread has a well known child-like derailer trying to provoke arguments, which he will then back down from quickly and cry victim when he’s called out on it, as he does in most threads. But Higgins is something else. Never volunteer to discuss things with him. You’ll only get annoyed🤣
Personally, I think it’s outrageous how Donk has been treated by various mindsets. How you can kick a man when he is down, and then use his loss for your own entertainment without any thought as to him and the connection to these items he has, that you have absolutely no understanding of is utterly disgusting.
Given that Bond is one of the most enduring and iconic characters in film history, and the interest generated by for example the Bond cars on Top Gear, I'm still surprised by how low-key the theft has been treated.