Dog walker caught on camera keying woman's car

By The Editor 24th Aug 2020

This footage shows a late night dog walker scraping a Richmond resident's car with his keys twice before walking off.

Patricia posted the clip of her Porsche being keyed in the Richmond Hill area in hope that the perpetrator can identified and be caught.

The CCTV footage shows a man coming into the frame at 1am on Thursday, August 20. He scratches his head and pauses before appearing to grab something from his pocket and scrape it down the side of the car and back again, before leaving.

A police appeal has been launched.

In a comment on the neighbourhood forum Nextdoor Patricia said the man returned for a third time and left an abusive note.

"He came twice to scratch the car on both sides, then he came back a third time to leave a very offensive note saying "thank you for splashing me and my dog, you c***" ! ," she said.

"My husband didn't splash anyone on that last journey home, before the incident or ever!

"We last parked the car that day at 6pm, so this person went home and thought about this for seven hours, before coming to vandalise the car.

"Or the man followed the wrong car or it is just jealousy, either way, keying is an act of vandalism, a crime!"

In her original post, she wrote: "Please help me identify this man, he was walking a small dog and he was not wearing a hat or a hoodie, so I think he will be easily recognisable to those who know him.

"I have reported the crime to the police. If you can help, please contact me or contact the police quoting ref number 0708879/20.

"The car is severely damaged. He keyed it twice on each side end to end.

"Thanks for your help."

Patricia told Richmond Nub News that she's appreciative of how the community has rallied around her.

She said: "We are in contact with the police but, unfortunately, unless we can provide a full name and full address of the suspect; and someone is willing to give a statement identifying the male, there is not much they can do."

"The local community have been very supportive on Facebook and Nextdoor. There has been some information shared with the police thanks to the footage being posted online."