Find My app helps catch thief of iPhone belonging to former UK Prime Minister's father-in-law

By Oliver Haslam
published

iPhone XS Find My app
iPhone XS Find My app (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • A thief took an iPhone 8 from someone who was taking photos of them on private property.
  • The thief was located using the Find My feature.
  • They managed to steal an iPhone belonging to the father-in-law of the former British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Another stolen iPhone has been returned to its owner via the magic of the Find My app, this time in Scunthorpe, UK. The iPhone was stolen after its owner used it to photograph someone who was trespassing before the thief took exception and stole it.

Amazingly, the owner of the iPhone 8 happened to be Sir Reginald Sheffield, the father-in-law of former British Prime Minister David Cameron.

According to local reports, the thief has been jailed for 18 months for his transgressions.

A robber who snatched a phone from the father of Samantha Cameron, wife of former Prime Minister David Cameron, in a struggle at his estate has been jailed for 18 months after police traced him using the 'find my iPhone' feature.

It seems the thief, Antony Wilks, didn't want to be identified by photographs that were taken of him and subsequently stole the iPhone to prevent them from being used. Ironically, taking the iPhone was exactly what caused him to be captured.

Jeremy Evans, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that Sir Reginald, company director of the Normanby estate, near Scunthorpe, was driving a Subaru at Flixborough Grange when he noticed people there in a VW Golf.Wilks was a passenger in the car and there was also a trails bike. Sir Reginald took brief dashcam footage of the vehicles but Wilks approached him and opened the car door while Sir Reginald was holding the iPhone 8.Sir Reginald moved the phone to his left hand but Wilks reached into the car and said: "I'll have your phone, ta."

Antony Wilks iPhone Thief

Antony Wilks iPhone Thief (Image credit: Humberside Police)

You may or may not be surprised to hear that Wilks was known to the police. Extensively.

Wilks had convictions for 32 previous offences, including assaults and thefts, and had been jailed for two-and-a-half years at York Crown Court in March last year for offences including burglary and breaching a suspended prison sentence.

Maybe now would be a good time for Wilks to reconsider his choice of vocation. Turns out he isn't very good at his current one.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.

1 Comment
  • This afternoon, I had my IPad Pro with new keyboard stolen from a airline flight. I pinged and locked it, reported it to the airline and now waiting to contact insurance companies. Unfortunately, the credit card I used for purchase does not cover loss or theft. I also notified Apple. Can you erase data from an iPad like you can from an iPhone? What now, other than fume?