Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was robbed of his car.

The 19-year-old from Basildon was with friends sitting in his blue Ford Fiesta in the town’s Festival Leisure Park sometime between 3am and 3.35am on Monday April 17 when a man smashed several of the car’s windows and demanded they get out.

They fled and the suspect drove off with the car. It was found abandoned later that morning on the A13 Woolwich Way.

Detectives are appealing for witnesses who saw what happened or saw the car being driven following the incident.

It had been parked in the Festival Leisure car park near Unit 7, Pizza Hut and the taxi rank at the time of the robbery.

The suspect was described as white, between 5ft 4ins and 5ft 7ins tall, aged between about 19 to 23 and of stocky build. He had short blond hair and wore jeans and a short sleeved polo shirt. 

Anyone with information, or anyone with mobile phone or dash cam footage is asked to contact Dc Sam Sheehan at Basildon CID on 101.

Alternatively, contact independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or www.crimestoppers-uk.org.