Frank Skinner turns into newest sufferer of weird crime wave sweeping London’s prosperous postcodes – as thieves break into his Lexus and steal the parcel shelf
Frank Skinner has revealed his Lexus was broken into by thieves who smashed the rear window to steal the car’s parcel shelf.
This makes him one of the latest victims of a middle-class crime wave sweeping London‘s poshest neighbourhoods.
The comedian, 69, said he was forced to cover his shattered rear window with bin bags and gaffer tape after criminals targeted his vehicle this week to steal the fabric-covered panel.
Skinner, who lives in north London, said on Friday: ‘I got an email from my local crime prevention group. Someone smashed my back window in and took the parcel shelf out.
‘I had a look to see what a new parcel shelf from Lexus would cost. £805. So that’s why they’re stealing them.’
The theft is part of a surge in parcel shelf crime across affluent north London neighbourhoods including Muswell Hill, Primrose Hill, Highgate and Kentish Town, with police forces and community Facebook groups flooded with reports in recent months.
Thieves are reselling the stolen shelves on eBay and Gumtree, with Lime Bike-mounted criminals said to be operating on a ‘steal-to-order’ basis.
Experts say thieves are creating a market for second hand parcel shelves themselves as victims will have to buy a replacement for the one that is stolen.
Comedian Frank Skinner, 69, had his Lexus car smashed into and his parcel shelf stolen
The Metropolitan Police have been reviewing CCTV footage and conducting targeted controls in residential areas affected by parcel shelf thefts like the one Skinner is a victim of
Sharing further details of the incident on his podcast, Skinner added: ‘I’m not running the risk that I’m buying my own back. It’s not like a hostage thing where I give in and send them the money.’
He said that buying a replacement would mean ‘the car gets smashed in again for that.’
The crime wave has left victims facing bills running into hundreds of pounds to replace smashed windows, on top of the cost of replacing the parcel shelf itself.
Skinner’s Lexus has been stolen twice recently. He said: ‘The last time the car was stolen, the copper said to me, “Oh, you got a Lexus? They’ve just edged ahead of Land Rovers as the most stolen cart in London.”
‘Like like my team had just gone to the top of the Champions League.’
The comedian, who wrote and sang the famous Three Lions English football anthem with David Baddiel, said it feels like thieves are now ‘stealing my car in instalments’.
He added that parcel shelves are ‘the thing that you leave in your car. Most stuff that’s valuable, you take out.
‘We’ve only just got used to the idea that it’s valuable enough to be stolen. So now you see people walking away from their cars in my road with their parcel shelves under their arms.’
After the break-in, Skinner said he was forced to cover up the smashed window with plastic bags but had to wait 48 hours before the insurance company sent a repairman.
‘The bloke came and said, “I’ve got the windscreen, but it’s scratched. If I was you, I wouldn’t have it. But I can do it like a nicer version of this.”
Skinner continued: ‘So not only did he not have the window, but he dissed my plastic bag work… He did a better job. His was very neat.’
The comedian is not the only person who has fallen victim to this bizarre crime spree with many car owners in Primrose Hill, Kentish Town and Highgate finding themselves in similar situations.
Many car owners in Primrose Hill, Kentish Town and Highgate have found their cars smashed into and parcel shelves stolen
Another vehicle targeted by thieves in this bizarre crime spree
Footage shared by one resident showed a thief on a bike circling around a black Mercedes before smashing the rear window and hurrying away with the stolen shelf.
One victim from Highgate, who did not wished to be named, had a very similar experience to Skinner as he received a notification saying his Mercedes had been broken into at around 5.30am on July 12, 2025.
The 37-year-old has lived in the area for four years and said break-ins are particularly common on North Hill, View Road and Church Road, often on Friday nights.
Mechanics at a local garage told the victim that several others with the same model of car had been targeted.
It’s not just Lexus and Mercedes cars hit as other affected vehicles include Hyundais, Minis Jaguars and Vauxhalls.
The anonymous local said: ‘They go and smash in the rear-view glass and steal the parcel shelves to sell them on. We believe they are using Lime bikes, smashing the windows and riding off.
‘It is always shocking to hear these things, but it doesn’t surprise me. It is not only parcel shelves that people do these things with.
‘Two weeks after my car was hit, two of the neighbours were hit. I now keep my parcel shelves in the house.
‘We felt it was safer to bring them in. All the neighbours are keeping watch for them.
The Highgate Society warned earlier this month that thieves struck five times in three weeks, ‘mainly in daylight’, advising residents to ‘keep parcel shelves indoors for a few weeks’.
Criminals have turned to parcel shelves as they are lightweight and simple to detach, experts say. Meanwhile, traditional targets like sat-navs are increasingly built into vehicles, making them harder to steal.
Professor Emmeline Taylor, expert in acquisitive and retail crime in the School of Policy and Global Affairs at City St George’s, University of London, previously explained this bizarre crime spree to the Telegraph.
She said: ‘These days, everything that used to be stealable from a vehicle is integrated into the car itself – for example, the stereo is built into the dashboard and is therefore impossible to remove without damaging it in the process.
‘The parcel shelf is probably the last thing that can easily be removed.
‘It’s a case of a criminal feedback loop, where the very crime itself is creating the market for the stolen product.’
The removable panels, which sit behind rear seats to cover boot contents, fetch between £50 and £150 on resale platforms.
The Metropolitan Police is urging vehicle owners to park in garages or well-lit areas covered by CCTV.
A spokesperson said: ‘Having personal items stolen from your vehicle is an upsetting experience and we are determined to find and arrest those who break the law.
‘Park your vehicle in a private garage if you can. If you do not have access to one, try to park in a well-lit open space.’
The force have also been reviewing CCTV footage and conducting targeted controls in residential areas affected by parcel shelf thefts.
