CCTV has captured the moment a Range Rover was reversed off someone’s driveway as the owner tried to defrost it. The incident happened in Quinton, Birmingham, on Friday at 7.30am.
In the footage, the thief can be seen walking up to the nearly 20-year-old car, which had its engine running and window open, and peering in through the window.
Within 20 seconds, the thief enters the vehicle, slides across to the driver’s seat and tears off in the car owned by a mother trying to take her daughter to school. The owner of the Range Rover Vogue has released the footage to try and track his car down.
Speaking to BirminghamLive, he said: “My wife was defrosting the car and just come into the house briefly. She was about to go out and within a minute someone came and took the car.”
The owner, 58, added: “Looking at the CCTV he comes from down the road and looks at the car. He has a bag on his left shoulder. I think he leaves it somewhere and comes back to the car.
“I was very shocked and quite disturbed this happened. She is quite disturbed by it and so are the kids – they were scared.”
In a statement following the incident, a police spokesperson said they were investigating the theft and making further inquiries.
The spokesperson explained: “We are investigating after a car was stolen from a driveway in Birmingham on 19 January. Officers are examining CCTV footage and making further enquiries at this time.
“Anyone with any information can get in touch via 101 or Live Chat quoting crime number 20/156353/24.”
The vehicle police are looking for is a silver Range Rover Vogue, registration number KYO7 AEG. Anyone with any knowledge of where it might be is encouraged to inform the authorities.
Police have warned that car thieves keep an eye on the weather forecast to work out when the best time to steal a car is – mostly when it’ll be left unattended.
West Midlands Police explained: “We know sometimes people think they’re being security conscious by locking the door of the car with a spare set of keys, while leaving the other set in the ignition.
“However, thieves can still smash a window in order to drive away in your vehicle.”
They added: “Your insurance may not pay out if you are in any way deemed responsible for the theft. For more information on ways to keep your vehicle safe, visit our crime prevention advice page.”
The latest theft of a Range Rover comes just days after a study found the Range Rover was one of the most stolen cars in Britain. In light of this, Jaguar Land Rover, who make the Range Rover, have improved the security systems on their cars.
