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Woman hurt in carjacking
A TERRIFIED woman was dragged to the ground as she tried to stop a thief from stealing her car.
It happened on the driveway of the victim’s home on City Road in Kitt Green, and officers say that she was lucky not to have been more seriously injured.
The 56-year-old was defrosting her black LandRover Freelander - registration number MC07 AMC - when the stranger clambered into the car, grabbed hold of the steering wheel and put the vehicle into reverse.
The woman had hold of the thief’s arm as he drove off, which pulled her to the ground and eventually she was forced to let go.
The car was then driven at speed down City Road towards Montrose Avenue and out of sight.
The thief is described as being white, in his late 20s, with short brown hair, clean shaven and with a pale complexion. He was wearing a grey round-neck sweatshirt with long sleeves and blue jeans.
Police are now appealing to anyone who has information about the robbery - which took place at 8.20am on Saturday, February 2 - or the movements of the car itself, to come forward.
Pc Chris Waddicar said: “At this time of year, when the weather is extremely cold and cars are frosted up in the morning, opportunistic thieves like this will prey upon people as they are defrosting their cars.
“It can be tempting to leave the keys in the ignition for a few moments while the car is warming up, but sadly it only takes a few seconds for a thief to steal a car if the keys are still inside.
“What makes this worse is that the woman was dragged to the floor attempting to stop this thief, and could have been seriously hurt or even worse if the car had driven over her.
“We have previously seen this happen in tragic circumstances, so this is not just about a car being stolen.
“This woman could have been seriously hurt so we need to find the culprit.
“In particular, I would appeal to anyone who has seen this car being driven in the local area or the whereabouts of the vehicle in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
“We have released the licence plate so if anyone spots this car, please call us.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161 856 7147 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
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Weather for Wigan
Sunday 26 May 2013
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