December 24th 2023.
James Freedman, one of the UK's leading security experts, had his home burgled just days before Christmas. The devastating burglary had resulted in the theft of several watches and pieces of jewellery with sentimental value. It was on December 21st when James, his wife, and their two children were out visiting Santa when the burglars broke into their London flat.
The family returned to an all too familiar sight. James recalled, "We parked our car and went to the ground-floor door, and as we opened the door with the key, two guys came out. They were white, I would put one of them in his fifties and the other one probably about the same. They were wearing PPE masks made out of cloth." He knew something was off, but he continued up to the flat with his children in tow.
When they arrived, it was immediately clear that something was wrong. Among the items taken were the kids' milk teeth and a watch belonging to James's dad. James explained, "My father’s watch is the one I remember him wearing my whole life, since I was very young. After he died, my mother gave it to me, and losing it was horrendous. It actually would have been his birthday, the day we got burgled. I thought, shall I wear it today, since it’s his birthday? I decided not to, because we were going to woodland to see Father Christmas, and I didn’t want to lose it." The thieves also took a small glass cube, framed with gold and containing a chip of diamond, which is the only item James's wife has that was passed down from her grandmother.
As someone who has helped people stay one step ahead of the 'bad guys' over the years, James had some tips to help others prevent themselves from being burgled at Christmas. He advised, "At this time of year, people are needing to make sure they’ve got their doors locked, make sure CCTV is working if they have it, make sure lights are on or on timers, because people are leaving the house for a few days. This week is the shortest day and the longest night, so if you go out in the morning and there are no lights on and curtains, that’s potentially a flag for people." He also suggested asking a neighbour to keep an eye on the place if people have to go away for a few days.
James is offering much more than the monetary value for any information that leads to the recovery of the stolen items. If anyone has any information, they can contact James via his account on X, formerly Twitter, or his website.
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