Car stripped for parts in Digbeth while owner at gig

A driver has described being left devastated and hysterical after discovering her car had been stripped for parts while she attended a concert.

Rebecca Scotland parked the Citroen C1 in a Digbeth car park while at a show at the O2 Academy in Birmingham.

On returning to the vehicle she discovered the whole of the front exterior had been taken.

"I've never seen anything like it. I'd say it was the worst night of my life," the 27-year-old said.

The driver from Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, had left the vehicle at about 21:00 GMT, returning after the concert by 23:30.

"I thought the car looked a bit funny, I thought it was the lighting," she told BBC Radio Derby.

"It turned out that the front exterior had been stripped from it. The bonnet, headlights, bumper and a smashed window as well, so they could get the bonnet open.

"It's my first car, my baby, I think one of the reasons I'm so devastated is that I'm still paying for it till I'm 30 and I turn 28 next month," she added.

The incident happened before Christmas and the car is now back on the road after an insurance claim, said Ms Scotland.

"You'd think they'd be going for the more expensive cars but they seem to be just picking on what's popular," she added.

In the final three months of last year West Midlands Police arrested more than 100 suspects in a crackdown on vehicle crime.

The force advised people to think twice about buying parts from unauthorised or non-trusted dealers.

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