A mother has been reunited with her child after a would-be thief drove her car away with the youngster inside.
Police said the woman left the silver BMW 218D parked in the Union Street area of Larkhall, in South Lanarkshire, for a few minutes at around 4.15pm on December 31 and when she came back the car was gone.
A youth was then seen getting out of the car a short time later after trying to drive it back to the same spot. The child was found safe in the back of the vehicle.
The car thief is described as white, of slim build, around 5ft 9in and about 17 to 20 years old. He was wearing a dark top with the hood up and dark bottoms at the time of the incident.
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Inspector Jim Mutter said: “Fortunately the child was not harmed but this was an extremely upsetting experience for the mother and our inquiries are ongoing to trace the youth who was seen driving and exiting the car.
“We are asking anyone in the area at the time to check private CCTV and dashcam to see if they have captured anything that could assist us.
“We are also particularly keen to speak to two older women who were sitting on a bench nearby as they may have vital information that could assist with our inquiries.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 2136 of Tuesday, 31 December, 2024.
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