---
title: "Vacuum Cleaner Gangs Have Stolen $160,000 From London Parking Meters"
description: "London authorities raised the alarm this week after it was revealed that gangs had stolen the equivalent of $160,000 from parking meters using vacuum cleaners last year."
date: "2019-02-28"
modified: "2019-02-28"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/26680/vacuum-cleaner-gangs-have-stolen-160000-from-london-parking-meters"
categories:
  - "News"
---

# Vacuum Cleaner Gangs Have Stolen $160,000 From London Parking Meters

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2019/02/vacuum-cleaner-parking-meter-gang-london.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

The foggy, coal-flecked streets of London are under assault from a new and vicious gang, the [*BBC* reports.](<https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-47391080>) But it's not the typical drunken smash of football hooligans, nor is it a seedy branch of organized crime. No, these boys are packing vacuum cleaners. And they're coming for the [parking meters.](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/26307/self-driving-cars-could-increase-traffic-by-avoiding-parking-study-says>)

Local authorities in the west London borough of Kensington and Chelsea raised the alarm this week by revealing that organized gangs have used vacuum cleaners to steal the equivalent of $160,000 from the area's 70-odd parking meters over the past year. The borough council is pleading with residents to avoid using cash for parking and instead pay via credit card until the menace can be contained.

![message-editor%2F1551335326708-parkingmetervacuumhole.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1551335326708-parkingmetervacuumhole.jpg>)
**Kensington and Chelsea Council**

It's not quite as simple as strapping a [cordless Dyson](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/24388/dysons-electric-cars-will-be-built-in-singapore-instead-of-uk-brexit-not-the-reason>) to the coin slot. The thieves drill into the parking meters from the side, snake a vacuum hose into coin box, and suck out the money. Should that fail, some have resorted to busting the machines open with sledgehammers or ramming them with a car. But the vacuum tactic has proven the most popular way for these crews to make a quick and consistent buck.

"We have gangs stalking the streets and smashing their way into machines to suck the cash out. We also now know from local police that this is funding further criminality in London, from drugs and trafficking to possibly violent crime," council spokesman Will Pascall [told the *BBC.*](<https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-47391080>) "It is a trend we need to stop and motorists going cashless is one way we can help tackle this."

![message-editor%2F1551335407040-parkingmeterrammed.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1551335407040-parkingmeterrammed.jpg>)
**Kensington and Chelsea Council**

Short of posting an armed guard at every meter or swapping them out with a bombproof model, he's right that the ultimate fix is to [stop filling these public piggy banks](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/2024/new-york-parking-meters-finally-getting-smartphone-pay-app>) in the first place. That will prove easier said than done, as the *BBC* points out a recent poll done by the country's Automobile Association showed a large majority of drivers would be "less likely" to park somewhere that didn't take cash.

Until then, this will likely be an ongoing problem, in Kensington and Chelsea, London at large, and pretty much every city with parking meters on the planet. Meter theft is surprisingly common—you don't have to search hard to find a story like that of [parking meter repairman James Bagarozzo,](<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/17/new-york-parking-meter-thefts/2667561/>) who went to prison in 2013 for stealing over $210,000 in quarters from machines in Buffalo, New York.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)