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Gardeners unearth stolen phones left by snatchers
Volunteers find stolen phones hidden in a central London garden, returning them to owners or police while police report a 16% theft reduction since April.
- In recent weeks, Phoenix Garden volunteers have been digging up phones buried in flowerbeds, with Louise Gates saying, `Some of our volunteers have dug up phones wrapped in tin foil.`
- Because the garden is close to West End hotspots, snatchers often stash phones temporarily in the Phoenix Garden off Shaftesbury Avenue in Covent Garden after thefts near Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road.
- Victims have used Apple's Find My app to locate devices and come to the garden, while volunteers return phones to owners or hand unclaimed devices to police.
- A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said officers stepped up patrols, thefts fell by 16% since April, and the force urged Apple and Samsung to improve security.
- Volunteers use the garden to raise awareness among young people in central London about phone-theft risks, with Ron Chenery, Phoenix Garden volunteer , calling lost phones a regular occurrence.
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