Carjacker takes £16k Fiesta after putting ‘Slow’ sign in middle of road

A man lost his £16,000 motor in Solihull after a carjacker left a “slow” sign in the middle of the road.

The hoodie-wearing thief, who was lying low in bushes, pounced when unsuspecting Matthew Witts stepped out of his Ford Fiesta to move the obstruction.

The Post Office worker watched helplessly as his new car sped off into the distance.

“I was in a rush to get to work so I jumped out to move the sign,” the 21-year-old said.

But I turned around to see this guy jumping into my car.

“He ran from bushes at the side of the road – he would have hit me if I hadn’t moved.

“The car was brand new. I had only had it for six months so I’m gutted.

“There was not a scratch on it but now it’s probably locked up in a garage waiting to be stripped.”

The sign was left on a single-lane stretch of Fordbridge Road, Kingshurst, at 6.30am on 20th September.

Matthew, from Water Orton, was driving from his girlfriend’s house in Kingshurst.

He also lost his wallet, containing £80 in cash.

Matthew admitted he smelled a rat as he got out of his 14-registration car.

“When I had the sign in my hand I thought: ‘Hold on, what’s going on here?’

“It was early, there was no-one around and it seemed weird.

“But it was a Saturday morning so I assumed kids had been messing about the night before and had put something in the road to be a nuisance.”

Matthew was so upset that he appealed on Facebook and also posted an appeal on our wall for help to get his car back.

He wrote: “If anyone sees anything please send a message to this page or West Midlands Police.”

In a second message, he added: “Thanks everyone for the support.

Still no update on the situation from the police but if anyone has any information please inbox me, thanks again.”

* Matthew’s red Ford Fiesta Zetec – registration number BN14 WDM. Anyone with information, call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Read more: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/carjacker-swipes-16k-fiesta-after-7873926