A rock band who tracked down thousands of pounds of their equipment stolen claimed police refused to retrieve it – even though they tracked down the crooks.
Mallory Knox band member Sam Douglas said they found the goods using an app linked to one of the stolen devices.
But he branded Thames Valley Police “defeatest” after officers failed to chase the lead – despite the gear apparently being just 400 metres from a police station.
Cambridge-based Douglas said on Twitter that a van packed with the band’s personal belongings was targeted by thieves at Membury Services Station on August 31.
It included several laptop, tablets and top-of-the-range headphones, he said.
Douglas said: “We are aware chances of getting this stuff back now are slim, but even if we can prevent it from being sold on or prevent these people from doing this again to anyone else, at least that’d be something.”
The band had stopped at the services for just ten minutes when the theft happened, Douglas said.
He first revealed the theft with another tweet which said: “We’ve just been robbed. All laptops, all clothes, all ipads, all absolutely gone. Feel f***ing terrible.”
Software on a stolen Apple laptop tracked it to an address in Slough but the band claim no attempt has been made by police to recover it.
The police force said they could not find a log of the incident.
Douglas said: “They almost had a bit of a defeatist attitude from day one saying ‘oh it was Membury services, there’s no CCTV there’.”
The group drove to the location in Slough but were then told police could not attend for an hour.
And when they flagged down two passing officers, they left after 15 minutes because “they got called out to another call”, Douglas said.
His statement on Twitter added: “If you were at Membury Service station, or know anyone that was at that time, that may have seen anything suspicious or have dash cams fitted to their cars, or anyone that lives in the area that the laptop was last located who may have any info, please let us know.”
