Thief steals man's coat in bar but crook wasn't prepared for what happened next

08 March 2024 , 08:34

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Thief steals man's coat in bar but crook wasn't prepared for what happened next

A man who claims his £300 North Face coat was stolen on a night out says he managed to track down the thief all thanks to his Apple AirTag.

Ben Gransmore, 29, from Manchester, filmed the goose chase on TikTok after he had prepared for the worst due to previous theft incidents whilst out with his friends. He said his coat was snatched from the cocktail bar Mojo in Manchester city centre on March 2. Unfortunately for the suspect, Ben decided to AirTag his jacket after he had three coats stolen during nights out in the city before.

The following day Ben took matters into his own hands and claims he traced the coat to an address in Wigan using the AirTag. The amateur detective jumped in the car with his pal Henry Jones, 28, in tow to retrieve it. The pair, who both live in Deansgate, filmed the journey and posted the footage in two parts on TikTok.

The first video, which has now racked up more than one million views, went out on Tuesday (March 6) and the second was released the next day. The caption for the first video reads: "Someone stole my jacket from a bar in Manchester and thought they could get away with it... but I had an AirTag in it."

The coat was stolen during a night out in Manchester (Ben Gransmore/TikTok)

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Ben said he decided to put an AirTag in the coat after falling victim to multiple thefts. I've been out in a few places in Manchester and I have a group of friends and it's always my coat that gets taken. I've had three different coats stolen from different bars and was fed up. I end up spending more than £300 on coats every month so I thought I'd AirTag my coat," he said.

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Recalling the night the coat went missing, he said: "We were about to go home and I went to go and get my coat which was on top of a chair with my friends' coats and it wasn't anywhere to be seen. I went up to the bar and asked the staff to check for it and they were very helpful and tried to find it but couldn't."

"I could see on the AirTag it was inside so someone must have been wearing it," he said. Ben woke up the next morning and checked again and claims his coat was now in Wigan. Instead of calling the police he decided to try and get it back without any help. In the first video Ben is seen behind the wheel of his car heading to Wigan as Henry films.

Ben Gransmore (left) and his friend Henry Jones tracked down the coat (Supplied)

Social media users were quick to comment on the video and pleaded for a part two to be released. One person said: "Need part 2 bro - suspense is killing me" and another added: "I need to see the rest." Ben teased that part two was coming. In the next video released the following day, Ben is seen pulling up outside a property in Wigan before entering the building with Henry.

In a later clip they are seen standing outside a door listening to the sound of his coat's AirTag alarm but no one answers the door. A caption on the video reads: "The beep is going off, you can clearly hear it." In a piece to the camera once back in the car, Henry says: "Story time so we got to the flat, went upstairs and no one was answering."

"We asked a few doors and no one was answering their doors and then one woman came out and she didn't have much information and then Ben gave her his number just in case she figured out who it was." We then banged on the door as much as we could and no one was answering, the TV went off. So they were playing a bit, being a bit kind of shady. Then we stood outside. I rang the doorbell and then finally I saw a little face in the window."

Ben Gransmore and Henry were pleased with the results (Supplied)

"They then came down and said: 'Um you alright? Everything alright?', I said: 'You've got a coat in there can I have it back? Because you were out at Mojos in Manchester last night with this geezer and she just threw it outside and said they were hammered. So that's it really, we got it back." Ben then comments: "Life lesson learnt. Don't ever put your coat down when you go out in Manchester because you get people like that who just take them and that is why I AirTag my coats."

Ben told the MEN that they knocked on several flat doors in search of the coat before it was returned. We knocked on one and could hear the television going with the football and all of a sudden it went dead quiet but we weren't sure it was definitely coming from there. As I was going out back to the car I then saw them chucking the coat out the window," he said.

Commenting on the viral videos, he said: "It's blown up. I've had friends message me and even my manager seeing it." Viewers of the videos have been quick to share their support. One person wrote: "AirTagging a coat is so smart I'm jealous I didn't think of this myself" and another said: "I love that you AirTagged your coat."

Imogen Clyde-Smith