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Bentley shock as wheel thieves do the Continental
Evening Standard09.09.08
For the proud owner of a new £117,000 car, there could be few worse ways to start the day.
Both the owner and the maker of this Bentley Continental were left close to disbelief after thieves stole its tyres and alloy wheels - worth several thousand pounds - leaving it perched on bricks.
The victim spent several minutes yesterday morning walking around his car before calling for help. A short time later, a fitter from Bentley arrived to replace the stolen wheels.
The car was parked on the corner of Holland Park and Abbotsbury Road. One member of the Bentley Owners Club said: "I've never heard of anything like this before, you would have thought the wheel locking nuts would have done their job."
A spokesman for Bentley said: "The wheels are so well protected most people wouldn't be able to get the dust covers off so they would have to be exceptionally skilled. Even if you get down to the locking bolts there is a special key code.
"Our technical team believes this must have been an exceptional set of circumstances or they got lucky or took a very long time."
Reader views (5)
Oh dear Lucien - i presume you do not drive - or own anything made of iron/steel? If you did, you would be aware that rust forms in a couple of hours - get your steel wok wet, and leave it overnight to prove it! The condensation overnight forms iron oxide on the discs, which rubs off with the first application of the brakes>
- Gary, wycombe
He clearly has not driven the car for months judging by the rusting brakes so he deserves to have his wheels stolen.
- Lucian Meynell, London
Sorry - I reckon it was another Bentley owner who had a special key - that darn Credit Crunch!
- Sandra, London
Seems like this is more common than you think ...
Perhaps there's a black market in stolen Bentley alloys? No doubt they are set to appear on a Citroen Saxo 1.1 with blacked out windows, drainpipe exhaust and more candle power than horsepower.
- Whitdawg, UK.
Looks like the scousers are teaching the Londoners how to beat the credit crunch.
- Terry C, Surrey
