Celebrity hotspot Belsize Village 'besieged by burglars'

An affluent north London neighbourhood is under siege by burglars who have carried out at least 24 raids since Christmas.

Businesses have been targeted along with about a dozen homes in the “crime wave” that has gripped Belsize Village in the past six weeks, according to local police.

More than £30,000 in cash and stock have been stolen in the raids, including a rare painting and thousands of pounds worth of cigarettes.

Traders believe burglars consider the upmarket enclave — which is home to celebrities including Helena Bonham-Carter and David Walliams, and where townhouses sell for more than £5 million — as an “easy target”,

They are now calling on Camden council to ramp up security.

Andrea Sylvester, owner of Sylvester Fine Art gallery on Belsize Lane, told the Standard: “We’re being targeted, and we don’t know why, and we don’t know who by.

"You have to let them know they can’t get away with it. If nothing is done after 10 or 11 burglaries, they’re going to think it’s Christmas all over again... we need CCTV and more patrols.”

On December 21 a £20,000 painting was stolen from the gallery’s window in a “classic smash-and-grab”. The picture, entitled Arsenale in Venice, was painted in 1962 for the artist’s granddaughter.

A man has since been charged with theft.

Thieves also smashed their way into The Late Late Shop off-licence in Belsize Lane twice in the past month and made off with £7,000 worth of cigarettes.

Supervisor Obaid Doulatzai kept guard afterwards by sleeping in the shop’s storage room for four days, until he was forced out by the cold.

A fruiterer and an Indian restaurant have also been hit. In a newsletter to residents, local PC Edward Bromelow says they “should still take care.”

Councillor Jonathan Simpson said: “Camden Council works closely with the police to take action to reduce crime and make our communities safer.

“We receive numerous requests for the use of CCTV cameras. Due to Government cuts our resources are limited and we therefore use them where we can make those people most at risk safer.”