Thieves snatch £500 of gadgets off couple at Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland has been plagued by pickpockets since the attraction opened - with one of their customers reporting having something stolen every day since it opened.

The festive funfair in central London opened less than two weeks ago, but already there have been 12 thefts reported to the Met Police, Metro reports.

And horrified punters have revealed their terror as their phones and camera gear have been targeted by brazen crooks.

Charlie Hernan had £500 of filming gear swiped after travelling from Plymouth to the Hyde Park attraction last Friday for a day with her boyfriend.

The 28-year-old had hoped to use her newly-modified GoPro to make content for her YouTube channel before the device - along with all her treasured footage - was snatched from her pocket.

And despite a series of CCTV cameras covering where the incident has taken place, she says no one made the effort to check the footage to help track down the thief.

'I was filming my boyfriend near a ride, put the camera in my pocket and when I went to take it back out 30 seconds later, it was gone,' she told Metro.

She continued: 'I felt so helpless. I was told by security that the information desk would be able to check CCTV footage, but when I asked them they said there was nothing they could do. 

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'I haven't even had a call back from the police yet – I have just accepted it's gone.'

And Charlie was not the only one - Emily Craner took to social media after her brand new £1,200 iPhone 16 Pro Max was also taken from her back pocket after leaving the famed attraction.

A reported 181 thefts took place at Winter Wonderland last year - up from 117 the year before and just 81 five years ago. 

The Met Police said that they are aware 'opportunistic criminals' target the site - and urged punters to 'remain vigilant' in crowded areas. 

Emily had come down to London from Manchester for a work site when she decided to visit attraction with friends.

But just seconds after the self-proclaimed 'city girl' put her phone in her back pocket when buying a bottle of water, she found that the device had disappeared.

Helpless without her money and her ID, which was in the back of her phone case, she said that she was left 'completely stranded' in the middle of the capital.

Taking to TikTok, Emily said: 'I went to Winter Wonderland with my girls from work, had such a nice time, went to the Bavarian village, had drinks - it was super cute.

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'And then basically, I came out of Winter Wonderland, walked the full way out, and we were gagging for water at this point because we hadn't bought any water because it's so expensive to buy in Winter Wonderland.

'I bought a £2 bottle of water, tapped my phone, turned around to speak to my friend, put my phone in my back pocket to unscrew the lid of the bottle to give to her, and I just felt my pocket was empty and it was gone.

'It was so quick - there wasn't anyone next to me, I didn't feel anything, I didn't feel anyone's hand on me, I didn't feel anyone's shoulder on me 

'It was just one moment I had the phone and the one moment it was gone. It was insane.'

She continued: 'So now I have no ID, no cards, no phone, no money no way to get home. And if I wasn't for Claire, I genuinely would have been stranded in London.

'I actually don't know what i would have done, which what is so scary about getting your phone robbed - it literally takes away everything.

'So obviously I had a full breakdown, panic attack, crying, screaming in the middle of the street.'

And Emily said that when she walked to the Tube after her theft, she spotted another woman crying after being targeted in 'the exact same spot'. 

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Issuing a stark warning for other customers, she added: 'People need to be careful. If you are going to Winter Wonderland or anywhere around that area do not have your phone out or in your back pocket.'  

A Met Police spokesperson said: 'We are investigating all reports of thefts made to us since Winter Wonderland opened last month, including making initial contact with victims and gathering relevant evidence where we can.

'We know that opportunistic criminals target areas of high footfall and tourism, such as Winter Wonderland.

'We advise everyone to remain vigilant of their surroundings in crowded areas. All crimes, including thefts should be reported to the police straight away. 

'The Met's website has a list of steps to help protect your mobile phone, and to support you from becoming a victim of crime.'

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland said: ‘We take security and any reports of theft very seriously and are looking into the incident reported to have taken place at Winter Wonderland in this article.

‘While cases of pickpocketing are unfortunately increasing significantly across London, 0.002% of this year’s Winter Wonderland visitors have reported theft.

‘We have robust security measures in place throughout the event – some which can be seen and more which cannot – to deter and detect this happening wherever possible and ensure our visitors have a safe and enjoyable experience.

‘We encourage visitors to always report any incidents to the Police, who we work closely with to investigate.’