A police helicopter hunted suspects across south-east London this morning after a stolen car smashed into a tree in Welling — hours after both it and a van were taken in an overnight burglary in Plumstead.
The drama began at around 7.15am on Wednesday, when police received a report of a burglary overnight at an address in Kings Heathway, Plumstead. A van and a car had been stolen from the driveway.
Morning chase across two boroughs
Officers responded and began area searches. At around 8.30am, police received a report of the van being driven in Wickham Street, Welling — several miles from where it was taken.
The van was later recovered, abandoned in Rokesby Close, Welling.
Separately, police received reports of a collision between the stolen car and a tree in Hill View Drive, Welling, at around 8.30am. No injuries were reported.
Helicopter over Welling
The search escalated with a police helicopter deployed over the area, startling residents. One social media user posted: “What’s going on in Falconwood Avenue and Bellegrove Road? There are helicopters and woke up to find a police officer and dog in my garden.”
The combination of helicopter, dog units and ground officers suggests police believed the suspects were still in the area and attempted to contain them.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “On Wednesday, 14 October at around 7.15am, police received a report of a burglary overnight at an address in Kings Heathway, Plumstead.”
“A van and car were reported to have been stolen from the driveway.”
“Officers responded and conducted area searches.”
No arrests yet
No arrests have been made so far. Enquiries remain ongoing, including a forensic investigation of the recovered vehicles and continued area searches.
Forensic examination of the abandoned van and the crashed car could yield fingerprints, DNA or other evidence linking suspects to both the burglary and the subsequent driving.
Anyone with information or footage — including dashcam or doorbell camera recordings from the Plumstead and Welling areas this morning — is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference CAD1237/14OCT.
Burglary and vehicle crime
Stealing vehicles during a burglary — taking the car keys along with other valuables — is a common pattern. Burglars increasingly target car keys specifically, knowing that a stolen vehicle is both a getaway and a valuable asset in itself.
The Met advises homeowners to keep car keys away from front doors and letterboxes, where they can be fished out, and to consider additional security such as steering locks or tracking devices.
What made this morning’s incident unusual was the speed with which the stolen vehicles were spotted and the scale of the police response. A helicopter deployment indicates the incident was treated as a priority — likely because the suspects were believed to be actively driving stolen vehicles through residential areas.
Residents rattled
For residents of Falconwood Avenue and Bellegrove Road, waking up to a helicopter overhead and a police dog in the garden is not how anyone expects to start a Wednesday.
While no injuries were reported in the crash, the incident will have shaken those living on Hill View Drive, where the stolen car hit the tree.
The fact that the van was driven through Wickham Street — a residential road — before being abandoned in Rokesby Close suggests the suspects knew the area, or were at least comfortable navigating it.
Police are likely to maintain a presence in the area while enquiries continue. Residents with any information, however small, are encouraged to come forward — in cases like this, a single sighting or a few seconds of doorbell footage can break the case open.
London Streets has been covering the early-morning robbery in Croydon and the CCTV appeal after a sexual assault at Stockwell.
