Police hunt test-drive car thief

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Police are hunting a man who made off with a car he was meant to be taking for a test drive.

The owner of the black Mini Cooper, a 38-year-old woman, took the man for test drive on Monday 12 January and parked up on Matalan car park, Oldham Road after the man said he would like to but the vehicle.

The pair got out of the car at 4.30pm, but the offender jumped back in the drivers seat and sped off.

Police are now urging people privately selling their cars to be vigilant following the theft.

The offender is described as a white man, 5ft 10in tall and aged in his mid 20s, of medium build. He had a northern accent and was wearing a beanie hat, a grey top, blue jeans and black shoes.

Chief Inspector Haydn Roberts of Greater Manchester Police's Traffic Network Section said “The victim was looking to sell her car and instead ended up having it stolen by an opportunistic thief.

“I would urge people who are meeting with prospective buyers and arranging test-drives to follow some basic safety advice. Ideally don’t meet them on your own, try and take someone with you. If they want to take it for a test drive, don’t let them go without you, and ideally another person, in the car. This incident happened as the owner was about to swap seats with the buyer following the test drive. Another way to avoid this would be to ask them to hand you the keys back before getting out of the car.”

Anyone with any information about the theft is asked to call police on 0161 872 5050 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.