Thieves enter London dad’s living room and nick PS5 ‘stolen to order’ for Christmas

A man from West London was robbed of his PS5 by two masked men who pushed their way into his living room and ran off with the console.

The robbery was caught on camera and happened after Luke Anderson, 37, attempted to sell a PS5 on Gumtree.

Luke was in his living room in Hounslow, West London, and assumed the men were going to pay for the PS5 before they ran out.

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“One guy asked if he could come to my house. But then he called and asked to meet in a car park by a pub. I thought, ‘Sounds dodgy’. I said, ‘No, you have my address’.” Luke told The Mirror.

“I answered the door and one person came in. Then a second man, who wasn’t invited, came in. The first man picked up the product and put it back down.

“Then, the second grabbed it and ran out. They ran out the house and I ran out, trying to catch them. I had some builders in the house who ran out with me. I noticed there were more people outside.

“I’m a big guy but I did stop and think, ‘It’s not worth it. They could have acid or knives, and it’s a PS5’. If it had been an old lady, it could have been terrible. It’s disgusting.”

Luke had home surveillance cameras that filmed the raiders entering the property and fleeing with the goods without paying.

Luke’s robbery is not isolated and The Mirror reported that in some cases victims have been sprayed with acid, throttled or held at knifepoint.

Phones, tech equipment and jewellery are often targeted in what experts fear is a festive “steal to order” surge.

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Luckily, Luke was spared violence – though he says cronies of the thieves were waiting outside his house.

Despite the robbery being caught on camera, Luke won’t be able to get any money back from his insurers.

He said: “My insurers won’t allow me to make a claim because they said I invited the man in and didn’t ask him to leave.”

Ex-government fraud adviser Andy Knight warns Christmas will “exacerbate” a growing problem of scam raids like Luke experienced.

“Demand for these goods and the value they can command is likely to attract organised criminals.” He told The Mirror.

Gumtree told The Mirror: “We are appalled to hear of this. We urge anyone who encounters suspicious or criminal behaviour to contact the police and to report it to us immediately through the ‘Report’ button listed next to all ads.”

Facebook owner Meta also said to them: “We encourage users to never meet up with a purchaser alone – always take a friend and meet in a well-lit place.”

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