A violent thief who has targeted wealthy homeowners and stolen more than £10 million worth of jewellery has been linked to four more burglaries.
The robber, who’s been dubbed the Night Watcher, is now believed to have raided 17 homes, sometimes while wielding a shotgun.
Police have linked him to four more robberies, three in Kent and one in London, since they last released details of his crimes in 2019.
The Night Watcher’s crimes began in 2006, but the offences weren’t linked by police until 2017.
Working alone, the robber targets isolated homes in affluent areas and spies on the homeowners to work out their daily routines and security arrangements.
Police believe he could be an ex-soldier, using his military training to carry out the attacks and avoid being caught.
A Kent Police spokeswoman told the Mirror: ‘We are investigating a series of five burglaries between November 2016 and January 2022 where isolated properties have been targeted.
‘It is reported that on each occasion a lone offender threatened victims in order to steal cash and high value possessions including jewellery and watches.
‘Victims have been threatened with a firearm and restrained with cable ties and ropes.
‘Inquiries have included extensive review of any CCTV, as well as a full forensic review of each burglary.
Officers are also continuing to work closely with other police forces, where similar burglaries have taken place.’
During a robbery in Bromley, south east London, in 2021, he attacked two women in their home and left them needing hospital treatment.
He’s struck across the south east, including in Berkshire and Surrey, and victims include the Duke and Duchess of Richmond who were attacked in their stately home in West Sussex in 2016.
They were tied up and forced to hand over heirlooms valued at £700,000.
In another break in, the Night Watcher kicked a pregnant woman in the stomach.
And in another in Surrey in 2017, Susan Morris suffered a broken jaw and lost a tooth after he attacked her with a sawn-off shotgun.
Police on the case previously issued a CCTV still of an armed raider at a home in Maidenhead, Berks, in 2015.
The Night Watcher most recently struck almost two years ago, meaning this would be the longest period he has gone without offending since his second known burglary in 2009.
The timeline of The Night Watcher’s burglaries
January 2006 – Leatherhead, Surrey
January 2009 – Weybridge, Surrey
September 2011 – Weybridge
May 2013 – Virginia Water, Surrey
November 2014 – Tadworth, Surrey
January 2015 – Maidenhead, Berkshire
June 2015 – Virginia Water
January 2016 – Goodwood, West Sussex
November 2016 – Sevenoaks, Kent
January 2017 – Maidstone, Kent
April 2017 – Virginia Water
October 2017 – Tadworth
February 2019 – Reigate, Surrey
August 2020 – Tonbridge, Kent
September 2021 – Tonbridge
October 2021 – Bromley, south east London
January 2022 – Tonbridge
