A wedding videographer has had £15,000 of kit stolen – including footage from his clients’ weddings.
Hugh Murthwaite was filming at a clinic in London’s prestigious Harley Street.
As he was taking shots, a crook snuck in from the street and nicked his equipment.
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Due to the theft, the 26-year-old has been left with no option but to tell clients all of their wedding footage is gone.
Cops are investigating the theft.“The stress has been monumental,” Hugh, from Torquay in Devon, told Need To Know.
“I’ve refunded thousands of pounds worth of work and I’ve spent eight grand on new equipment, which I’ve had to take out a loan to buy.”
Hugh had been filming all morning before packing away some of his equipment and going to another part of the clinic to do some more.
He said: “It was about 1:45pm, we’d been filming there all day, and I packed the interview equipment and other stuff into my bag in a back room that was closed.
“Within about five minutes of me going upstairs into the surgery room, some guy had been buzzed in or had snuck behind someone into the main clinic.
“He hung around the hallway for about three minutes before heading to the closed room.
“He looked at a laptop and the phones that were on a table there, didn’t take them, but went over to my bag and took it.”
Hugh says the bag contained £750 in cash, camera bodies and lenses, hard drives and a laptop, all of which he uses for the day-to-day running of his business.
Unfortunately due to poor CCTV recording there is no clear picture of the suspect, making it extremely hard to trace them.
Hugh said: “The police have told me the CCTV I’ve provided isn’t clear enough – it’s just photos and they need video footage.
“I’ve got some CCTV from other clinics around Harley Street, but it’s all the same low-quality images.
“There’s one video of him walking but the quality isn’t good enough.“It feels like they just don’t really care.”
To help Hugh rebuild his business and get back on his feet, friends and colleagues have set up GoFundMe pages.
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “On 25 June police received a report of the theft of items including camera and computer equipment from a venue in Harley Street, W1.
“Enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing.
“Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or ‘X’ @MetCC and quote 01/514588/24.
“You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
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