A PARCEL thief was caught on Ring doorbell footage stealing two packages from outside a Southend home - just 11 minutes after they were dropped off.
The shocking footage shows the moment a thief eyes up the front door of the home before making his move to swipe the parcels before fleeing.
Sarah Hayward, 32, was taken back when she checked her footage on Saturday to see the man - donning a hood and a hat - grab her packages before scarpering.
The Southchurch resident had two packages from Vinted delivered by Evri just 11 minutes before they were taken.
Evri has now apologised to Sarah following the incident.
She said: "Despite clear delivery instructions being in place, Evri failed to follow them - the doorbell was not rung, and instead my parcels were left unattended on the porch, fully exposed to public view.
"This incident is both frustrating and disheartening, particularly given the ongoing concerns around rising crime rates in the Southend area.
"Neglectful situations like this undermine any sense of security at home and highlight the importance of delivery services following basic instructions to prevent avoidable theft."
CCTV footage shows an individual wearing what appears to be an orange high-visibility work jacket walking past the property.
He pauses, appears to assess the situation, then walks away to the left. Shortly after, he returns having removed the high-visibility jacket and proceeds to steal the parcels from the porch.
"Fellow neighbours have previously been affected by this and we all communicate in a WhatsApp group," said Sarah.
"Despite the majority of us having camera doorbells and CCTV on our homes, it seems to not deter the criminals."
This incident is one of many parcel theft reports in Southend this winter, with ring doorbell footage also capturing the theft of Christmas gift parcels from a home on Oban Road, Southend on December 18.
After seeking help from the public through social media, Sarah reported the incident to the police on Monday, who will assign officers to look into the incident.
After seeking help from the public through social media, Sarah reported the incident to the police yesterday on Monday.
A spokesman for Evri said: “Evri handles over 900 million parcels per year with the vast majority being delivered safely and successfully on time.
“Our couriers are provided with guidance on what makes a sensible safe place for a delivery and we’re sorry that on this occasion that guidance hasn’t been followed.
“The delivery falls below the standard we expect, and we have taken action with the courier to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“Our customer service team are reaching out to support the customer on next steps.”