Caught on camera: Carjacker steals car as woman vacuums it at petrol station
This is the brazen moment a carjacker crept up to a vehicle and stole it from a woman while she was cleaning it.
CCTV footage from a Jet garage in Shard End, Birmingham, shows the thief lying in wait on the drivers’s side of the VW Golf while the owner vacuumed the interior of the car.
He can be seen crouching down to avoid being spotted by the driver before he suddenly leaps into the front seat and speeds away with the boot wide open.
The woman can be seen throwing her hands up in the air and holding her head in disbelief as the man makes his escape.
West Midlands Police are now investigating the broad daylight theft, which took place at midday on Monday.
Video of the theft has been viewed tens of thousands of times since being uploaded to social media.
Brian Thomas wrote: "You've got to feel for her, she shouldn't have left the keys in the ignition but you think you'd be ok while you were still with your vehicle."
Hope Murphy added: "Silly girl, but nobody deserves that. How desperate must he be, I just can't believe the cheek of it."
Anyone with information is urged to to get in touch with West Midlands Police by calling 101 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, quoting crime number 20BE/182493H/20.