A gas terminal worker’s “pride and joy” hot hatchback was stolen from his driveway – when he was in the middle of washing it.
Gary Crawford went inside his house to get a bag for his vacuum and went back outside to discover his prized Volkswagen Polo GTi was gone.
The 25-year-old bought the £18,500 white sports model brand new just six months ago.
It has the distinctive private registration plate Y444GAR.
And Mr Crawford said that shortly after it was stolen from outside his north-east home yesterday morning there were sightings of it being driven nearby.
He previously owned a high performance Audi TT RS.
But his girlfriend, Sarah Allan, said he had fallen in love with the Polo since buying it.
The 21-year-old said last night: “He took the car out of the garage and into the drive to wash it.
“He opened the doors and was away to begin hoovering.
“He only nipped inside to get a bag, but when he went back outside the car was gone.
“We’ve got no idea who would do this – right now we’re trying to spread the word to try and track it down.
“We just want people to keep an eye out for it.”
Police are investigating the theft and a spokeswoman said last night that inquiries were “ongoing”.
She added that the incident, which happened around 10.30am, was not believed to be connected to any other crime in the area.
Earlier this year police officers launched a crackdown on car-related crime after a spate of thefts across the north-east.
Detective Chief Inspector David Hadden said officers had deployed “every resource” at their disposal in the hunt for the culprits, including helicopters and sniffer dogs.
Plans are also in place to send officers on specific car theft training courses.
DCI Hadden said: “If we’re not pursuing them we do have other tactical options – radios allow us to communicate quicker than they can drive, and they know fine that when the helicopter gets above them, they’ve had it.”
Mr Crawford works at the huge St Fergus gas terminal. His car was stolen from outside his house in Rosehearty, near Fraserburgh.
Local councillor Mark Findlater appealed to residents to be vigilant last night.
“My heart goes out to the couple who have had their car stolen,” he said.
“I would ask for anyone with any information to get in touch with police.
“At the end of the day, they work on local intelligence – you don’t need to reveal your identity.”
Police have urged anyone with information on the theft to contact them on 101.