Family shell-shocked after car thief strikes

A family has been left shell-shocked after their £20,000 vehicle was stolen from their driveway in broad daylight as they unloaded the week’s shopping.

Suzanne and Jonathan Abrahams were unloading from the boot of their white Kia Sportage when a man in a woolly hat approached and jumped in the driver seat before speeding off, leaving a trail of shopping behind him and the boot still open.

Mrs Abrahams, 33, said the vehicle contained child seats for their two daughters, who are aged three and seven months. They were inside the couple’s house at the time.

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She said: “We dread to think what might have happened if the girls had been in the car. It is awful, but could have been a lot worse if the girls had been taken.”

Mrs Abrahams, an NHS manager, had been shopping at Tesco in Seacroft on Saturday afternoon and had spent £150 on groceries, including new clothes for the children. She was busy unloading with her husband when they spotted a blue BMW 3 series lurking nearby at the Leeds Golf Centre, on School Lane, Wike, near Shadwell, Leeds.

“The man was then seen on CCTV walking up our driveway and getting into the car, then the shopping was all over the place as he drove away with the boot wide open,” added Mr Abrahams. “I chased him up the street but it was too late and I got into my car and tried to follow him. He drove towards Harrogate Road. We just want the car back.”

Police have appealed for anyone with information to contact them. The thief struck at around 3.15pm on Saturday.

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Leeds United fan Mr Abrahams, who works at the Yorkshire Showground, has turned to twitter where he has had help from Leeds soccer star Dominic Matteo and Leeds Rhinos player Ryan Bailey, who have retweeted his appeal for information.

Contact Wetherby Neighbourhood Policing Team via 101 or call Crimestoppers, anonymously and in confidence, on 0800 555 111.

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