A group of young thieves filmed themselves rummaging through an elderly man’s bedside table looking for his car keys while he slept next to them.
The disturbing video showed a group of Indigenous youth offenders breaking into an elderly man’s home in regional New South Wales.
The short clip began with at least two children entering the house before walking down a hallway toward the bedroom.
As they approached, the cameraman turned the video towards himself to turn off the camera.
The pair then casually walked over to the old man’s nightstand, grabbed his sleeping keys just inches away, and checked his nearby walker for valuables.
Shocking footage showed a group of young thieves stealing car keys from an elderly man (pictured) as he slept next to them.
While the exact location of the robbery is unclear, Ben Fordham on Wednesday called on New South Wales Premier Chris Minns to do more to tackle youth crime across the state.
“This bastard sneaks up to his bedside table, looks for his car keys and then they take a look inside his walker,” the 2GB presenter said.
‘They are robbing him while he sleeps.
“What a bunch of cowardly bastards.”
A second video reportedly showed the group inside a car armed with a crowbar.
“All their faces are covered, but when you freeze the video, you can see some faces,” Fordham said.
‘They are not ashamed of themselves. They film the videos themselves, share them on social networks and even add music.
‘They record TikTok videos and then throw away the stolen cars.
“They enter houses while the elderly and children are sleeping.”
Fordham said several types of theft, including car theft, are almost doubling in regional areas of New South Wales compared to Sydney.
In a fiery speech, he called on Mr Minns to take a tougher stance against youth crime, particularly where indigenous offenders are concerned.
‘Intentional damage to property is 93 percent higher in the bush. Engine theft is 100 percent higher. “This compares to Sydney,” Fordham said.
‘But if it’s in the bush, it’s out of sight, out of mind.
‘After spending a year talking about indigenous issues, there is silence about it.
“The system has decided it’s better not to lock these people up so they can go crazy every night.”
The group of thieves (one pictured) shared footage of them robbing the NSW regional home and driving an allegedly stolen car.
Shadow Police Minister Paul Toole last week renewed calls for the Minns Labor Government to back a regional crime inquiry following videos of teenagers breaking into motel rooms.
‘Unfortunately, I’m not surprised we’re at this point. “Law and order requires constant attention, otherwise we end up with these home invasions, street shootings and children walking through murder scenes on their way to school,” he stated.
‘[Minister for Police] Yasmin Catley is out of his depth and has repeatedly been missing in action. As a result, crime is now out of control.
‘The police are doing everything they can, but they have no support behind them.
“The Minister is silent when it comes to providing additional resources, and officers are having to work endless overtime to the point of exhaustion.”
Toole said an investigation would reveal the justice system’s shortcomings in dealing with repeat youth offenders.
“Families in regional communities are terrified every night of waking up to find someone in their home stealing their belongings or worse,” he said.
‘There is nowhere to go, we are now at a point where not even your own home or hotel room is safe.
‘Yasmin Catley can no longer bury her head in the sand. She is out of control and our police and our communities deserve real action immediately.”
Shadow Police Minister Paul Toole (pictured) has called on the NSW government to support an inquiry into youth crime to find new ways to tackle the growing epidemic.
Fordham said residents of the small northern New South Wales town of Moree are “installing CCTV cameras for the first time” and “sleeping with baseball bats and golf clubs” following a series of robberies.
One resident wrote to 2GB: ‘Chris Minns come here and see what’s going on. I feel like we’ve been forgotten.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted New South Wales Police for comment.