Woman reverses own car off truck to foil Wolverhampton theft

A woman who spotted a thief using a truck to take away her car said she foiled him by leaping on the back of the transporter and reversing her snatched vehicle down its ramp.

She saw the theft as she was leaving a Slimming World session in Wolverhampton.

She said that as she jumped into action she thought: "How dare you take my car? You are not having it."

West Midlands Police said it was investigating an attempted theft.

The offending truck drove off during Monday's incident, following a brief tussle between its driver and the car's owner, Bev, who said she did not wish to give her full name.

Saying she felt a "bit upset" when she returned home, she added: "People said how brave I have been but I would not suggest anyone do what I did because it could have been a different story."

She admitted she had been lucky and while she did not suffer serious injury in the struggle, she warned others that "anything could have happened".

Bev said she was leaving her weight-loss club in a church when she saw her car on a ramp at the rear of a truck.

"I was completely shocked, the fact it was broad daylight and it was actually outside a church as well, which I found unbelievable," she said.

Wearing, Bev explained, the flip-flops she had just been weighed in, she ran over, jumped on to the truck, on which the ramp was still at an angle, and got into her car.

She said she then released the handbrake to roll her car backwards down the truck's incline.

"I think someone was looking over me because I didn't go into any other cars," she explained.

She added the offender attempted to take her car keys off her and "we had a bit of a tussle", but, she said, he quickly gave up, got into the truck and drove off.

Passersby stopped and took the number plate of the truck and police said they were checking whether the church recorded the crime on CCTV.

Bev said the incident came a few months after a catalytic converter was taken from her husband's car, and said she shared video she shot of the truck to raise awareness on Facebook of vehicle crime in the area.

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