A MOTORIST who had his car stolen from under his nose after he left it with the engine running has urged other drivers not to make the same mistake.

Police have warned that, in the cold weather, thieves are increasingly on the look-out for drivers who have left their cars to warm up for a moment before they drive off.

, 33, had left his engine running just to pop out and post a letter at Brook Parade, in Chigwell High Road, when his Ford Ranger was taken by an opportunist thief.

He said: “I just crossed the road five metres away. I'd turned my back and he was just off. It was very, very quick. It must've been 15 seconds.

“It's terrible. I don't know if I'll get anything back on the insurance, getting to work is nearly impossible- I've had to borrow a car. My phone is gone as well. If it had been the weekend my daughter could've been in the back. That's the scary part of it.

“He must have been waiting for such an occasion. The police said it's probably a group of people waiting until someone does it.”

Mr Rees, a stonemason, of Tudor Crescent, Hainault, who lost his car at 7.40am on Tuesday, January 5, is only the latest in a line of recent car theft victims.

At the same time a black Smart car was being stolen from an address at Beatrice Court, in Buckhurst Hill, and a Ford Mondeo was stolen from the driveway of a home in Kettlebury Way. In all cases the vehicles were stolen while the key was in the ignition.

Mr Rees said: “My advice is don't leave your vehicle unattended for even a second. A lot of people warm their car up in the driveway, don't even do that. It just takes no time at all for someone to jump in your car and drive it away.”

Epping Forest crime reduction officer Tony Ellis said: “The steam from a running car will attract thieves like a magnet.

“If you do leave your car unattended with the keys in the ignition and it is stolen, you may find that you are not insured. You have been warned."