Mums are being robbed of their pricey buggies – and it’s sparked a mini crimewave
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Thieves are targeting mums with luxury prams, writes Charlotte Cripps, and it’s only getting worse. But should we be asking why many of us pay through the nose for top-of-the-range strollers with leather handlebars and cup holders?. My heart was pounding. I had taken my daughter Liberty, then about 10 months old, to a mum and baby yoga class in west London, when suddenly there was an enormous scream from outside the venue – it sounded as if somebody was being murdered. We all ran out to investigate the source of the commotion. I looked over the railings. “Catch him!” one mum shouted, as a buggy snatcher fled out of sight from the pram park with three or four lightweight and collapsible YOYO prams over his shoulder.
![[The YOYO is loved by celebrities including Keira Knightley, Eddie Redmayne and Kim Kardashian. They cost around £399 new, before the add-ons]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/11/18/image.jpg)
These chic and lightweight French-designed buggies – one of the few that can fit into an aircraft holdall – are loved by celebrities including Keira Knightley, Eddie Redmayne, and Kim Kardashian. They cost around £399 new. That is, of course, before the add-ons: there’s the cup holder for your flat white, the leather handlebars and footmuff, the parasol and mosquito net. But as far as expensive strollers are concerned, it’s cheap. The average price of an upmarket buggy is more likely to be £700 to £1500, and others cost more. A top-of-the-range Cybex Platinum e-Pram costs £2,289, with its app-controlled rocking function to soothe your baby, while a Baby Dior Stroller in powder pink costs £2,600.
![[The rise of luxury strollers, such as the one Victoria Beckham had, can be seen as part of a broader trend where consumer goods become extensions of personal identity]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/11/16/shutterstock_editorial_1432095r.jpg)
The panic at the yoga class was therefore understandable – it’s not just that you can’t ferry your children around without a pram, it’s also the often eye-watering cost of replacing it. The mums like me were unable to run down the street after the thief because we were still holding our babies. Instead, we looked on in desperation to see if our prams were still there – I saw my YOYO as it had a caterpillar toy hanging from the handlebars. Some of the unlucky few collapsed in tears.
![[Pricey buggies include the Baby Dior Stroller in powder pink, which costs £2,600]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/11/18/Screenshot-2024-12-11-at-18.03.34.jpg)
