Frightened owners in millionaires’ row in Highgate hit by wave of terrifying dwelling invasions as balaclava gangs use crow bars to wedge open doorways to mansions
Terrified residents of one of North London‘s most expensive postcodes say they are living in constant fear of home invasions from balaclava wearing thugs who are targeting their properties at night.
Roads in the leafy Highgate neighbourhood where the average home sells for £5.9million are patrolled by private security teams however this has not deterred criminals who continue to stalk the area.
Shocking Ring doorbell footage of a recent home invasion show the extreme lengths criminal gangs have gone to in order to gain access to the luxury mansions in the area.
In the footage, three men can be seen shoving a bolted door just after 6pm on a Tuesday evening.
Terrified residents of one of North London’s most expensive postcodes say they are living in constant fear of home invasions
Shocking Ring doorbell footage of a recent home invasion show gangs forcing themselves in with crowbars
After gaining access to the property they storm their way inside and make off with valuables
Residents have seen burglars trying to force their way into their homes on their CCTV
Despite the presence of a car in the drive indicating that the owners are home, the burglars produce two crowbars and force open the door before storming inside.
It is unclear how much the robbers walked away with following the raid or if anyone was inside the home at the time.
The forced entry, whilst shocking, is one of many that happen in the area every week.
When MailOnline visited the quiet neighbourhood this week, many residents told us that home invasions and theft were part and parcel of living in the area.
One homeowner explained: ‘There’s been a lot of incidents on this road. The private security doesn’t deter them.
‘They come in the day and they come in the night. Some workers have lost tools from the back of their vans while they’re working.
‘This area seems to be targeted. It’s concerning but what can be done?’
Another young family told MailOnline they were still reeling from a burglary last week which happened at a time when their young children were home.
They said: ‘We were broken into last week while we all home. It happened just after 7pm when they knew we wouldn’t have turned on the security.
When MailOnline visited the quiet neighbourhood this week, many residents told us that home invasions were common
All the residents have high tech security systems which seemingly do not deter robbers
Roads in the leafy Highgate neighbourhood where the average home sells for £5.9million are patrolled by private security teams
Despite the presence of security teams many robbers still try their luck
‘They forced their way into our living room via the side door. Thankfully my husband came into the room and they turned and ran. If they knew we were home they would have brought weapons.
‘It’s definitely got worse but there’s not a lot we can do.’
Another resident was forced to call security after a group of young men scaled his garden wall and began trying to force entry to his property.
The homeowner told the MailOnline he had initially been quite impressed by the group’s acrobatic abilities in gaining entrance to his garden but was quickly unnerved by their persistence.
‘My security alarm went off’, he recalls, ‘so I was looking at them on my CCTV and saw that they were going to keep trying doors until they got in.
‘I had to call up the security who chased them away but its really not ideal is it? It’s not what you need when you could have children in the house.’
MailOnline has approached LSC security and the Metropolitan Police for further clarification.
