Black Friday shoppers issued warning as 'Porch pirates' steal £380m worth of parcels from doorsteps

A surge in "porch pirates" saw nearly £380million worth of goods swiped from people's doorsteps last year, according to new data. The rise in online shopping has led to organised gangs capitalising on the opportunity to steal deliveries left by couriers, with many focusing their efforts on communal areas in apartment blocks.

This comes as a stark warning ahead of Black Friday and the Christmas period, which are expected to provide a lucrative opportunity for these thieves. Tech firm Quadient, who submitted Freedom of Information requests to police forces, discovered that the average value of stolen parcels increased by 52% over the past year, rising from £66.50 in 2023 to £102 this year.

The total value of stolen goods amounted to a staggering £376.6million. The FOI data also revealed that residents in apartment blocks are 24% more likely to fall victim to parcel theft than those living in houses, suggesting that thieves are taking advantage of the chance to steal multiple parcels at once from communal areas.

Further research indicates that 13% of UK households – equating to at least 3.69 million homes – experienced at least one parcel theft over the past year. Katia Bourgeais-Crémel, from Quadient, warned: "No home is immune to the plague of parcel theft, and as higher value items are being stolen, the UK public needs to be especially vigilant over the holidays. Flats are now prime targets for porch pirates as they use minimum effort for maximum profit, swiping multiple items at once. This being said, lower resident footfall around houses means they are attractive to opportunistic thieves."

The FOI revealed significant disparities in parcel theft reports across various regions, with Northumbria reporting as high as £202.20 and Derbyshire as low as £4.24. Bedfordshire reported the highest number of thefts, at 701, reports the Mirror.