Cars like the Scooby are at risk
Robbers in Lancashire have resorted to worrying new tactics to get the keys to high performance cars.
Masked men deliberately triggered the alarm of a Subaru Impreza so that the owner would come out with his keys to investigate.
They then ambushed the 34-year-old victim when he came out of his house at 1.55am and took the keys.
As the man examined the broken window, a gang of three men, aged between 18 and 25 and wearing dark clothes and scarves around their faces, attack him with baseball bats.
One robber allegedly shouted ‘get him in the back’ as they grabbed the keys to the £10,000 car.
The victim said he thought he would be put in the boot of the car but instead was pushed into some bushes before the robbers sped away.
It is feared this is the beginning of a new trend in car thefts and police have warned owners of expensive and powerful cars to be on their guard.
Det Sgt John Crichton, of Preston CID, said: ‘Cars are becoming increasingly difficult to break into.
‘A number of high-powered vehicles have been stolen where the thieves have had to steal the keys in order to start the engine.
‘We have had several incidents in rural areas and in Fulwood and think this incident may be a more sinister extension of that.
‘If you hear your alarm sounding in the middle of the night and own a fashionable, high-powered vehicle, be cautious about whether somebody could be lurking in the darkness.’
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