THIEVES were caught in the act trying to steal a couple’s family car.

The owner looked out the window to see a man inside his red 2015 Ford Fiesta, parked on the family drive in Brocksford Avenue, Rayleigh.

The owner, 37, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It was about 6.30pm on Wednesday and my partner had just came back with the kids. She went into the front room to sort the washing, where she saw through the curtains the car’s interior light was on.

“She naturally assumed the kids had left it on, but got the shock of her life when she pulled back the curtain and looked to find a man sitting in the car with another man waiting outside.

“I jumped up and ran straight out the door, chasing them shouting and hollering. There was a car that was really similar to ours waiting for them further up the road a driver inside, which they quickly got in and drove away. I ran back and tried to follow them in my own car but they had gone.”

He continued: “It’s a relief my partner found them when she did, a few minutes later and they would’ve got away. She uses that car every day for work and to get the kids to and from school, I don’t know what we’d do without it.”

The technician, who used to work for Ford, is warning others to be vigilant and offered some advice.

He continued: “You can plug a computer device into the vehicle to programme the key to your car, which is what they’ve done to us, so they could essentially come back anytime. We’re not taking the risk and luckily know how to sort it, but not everyone does.

“Being a technician for cars and seeing this happen a lot, I know they typically target the vulnerable, distracted people, or go for cars where there’s nobody around. It’s scary, you honestly never think it will happen to you until it does.

“I will definitely be upping my security now and putting more deterrents in place.You can buy something called a Ghost, which is a signal blocker, or an OBD security lock so they can’t plug the device into the vehicle.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Essex Police on 101 quoting crime reference 42/432/20.