Cops spot terrifying similarities between the ‘ex-soldier’ Night Watcher wanted over £7m raids and the Wimbledon Prowler
This means, if they are connected, the thefts in the Home Counties and south London have been going on for more than ten years and equate to about £17million worth of valuables stolen
THE violent and calculated Night Watcher could be the same person who has targeted south London for more than a decade, a detective has revealed.
The armed robber behind recent Surrey and Kent raids is thought to be a soldier responsible for thefts worth millions, and now police are looking into links with the so-called Wimbledon Prowler.
In a list of hits now thought to have possibly been committed by the same person - some unsolved robberies date date back to 2006.
This means, if they are connected, the thefts in the Home Counties and south London have been going on for more than ten years and equate to about £17million worth of valuables stolen.
Police say the Night Watcher stakes out the homes for days and sometimes breaks in before the robbery to check out the layout and discover where safes are.
The Wimbledon Prowler is noticeably skilled at dismantling security alarms and scaling properties - his victims include former tennis champion Boris Becker and French ex-footballer Nicolas Anelka.
Now Detective Dan O'Sullivan wants more information from colleagues looking into the Night Watcher's spree.
He told : "There is evidence that my suspect also has military training or experience of the Armed Forces. He is highly disciplined and has left few clues.
"In the offences committed in South West London the suspect has clearly observed properties but has avoided confrontation.
"But if the psychological profiling of the individual is correct, he could be disciplined enough to “switch on” violence and intimidation when he needs it."
When the sawn-off shotgun-armed raider finally strikes he uses appalling violence. But his brutality is controlled — designed to persuade his victims to comply immediately with his demands.
The planning, ruthless efficiency and the fact he uses cable ties on his victims all point to a military background, detectives believe.
He has taken valuable jewellery - including a ring that once belonged to Charles II.
The well-spoken raider has targeted seven homes since November 2014. He struck in Kingswood and Virginia Water, Surrey; Maidenhead, Berks; Sevenoaks and Maidstone, Kent; and at Lord March’s Goodwood estate in West Sussex.
Lord March, 63, was smashed over the head with a blunt weapon after the robber climbed in an upstairs window. He and Lady March, 56, were tied up.
The raider, nicknamed for the way he stakes out his prey, broke into Susan Morris’s home while her husband was out.
He broke her jaw and dragged her through the house by her hair.
Her husband returned to find 61-year-old Susan tied up in the bedroom of their Kingswood home.
She said: “I was really frightened.
Mum tells of terror at Night Watcher
By ANDY CRICK
THE violent burglar dubbed the Night Watcher raided a terrified mum’s house while her daughter was doing homework upstairs.
The suspect, believed to be an ex-soldier due to the military precision of his attacks, crept up on the woman as she sat watching EastEnders.
He put a shotgun to her head before stealing jewellery from her home in Sevenoaks, Kent.
She said: “I was terrified because my daughter was in the house. I had no way of controlling that she might come in.
“How dare somebody just violate my home, especially when I had a child in the house.”
Police believe the man has been behind seven burglaries, also in Surrey and Berks, in three years.
“He grabbed hold of me and I took him to the jewellery. He said ‘Get on the floor.’ I actually thought he was going to rape me.
“I gave him some more jewellery and he then wanted more. This is when he started to hit me.
“He hit me very hard on my face. I think he’s been trained how hard to hit someone to not knock them unconscious but to frighten them.”
The couple are now considering moving after upping security on their house following the raid which saw them lose family heirlooms.
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Millionaire Robert Stiff and family were also raided in Kingswood. The attacker kicked his pregnant daughter in the stomach before fleeing with jewellery.
Detective Inspector Dee Fielding said the robber, who was caught on CCTV, took items worth more than £1million from each raid — often family heirlooms.
She said: “We do not believe this to be the work of an opportunist but someone who has specialist knowledge and skills — possibly ex-Forces or from a similar background.”
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