Thieves in Waterlooville in Hampshire stole a sports car on Thursday which had the owner's five-year-old son in the back seat [17 February 2012].

The boy's mother, 24, was driving through Waterlooville when a BMW crashed into the back of her Mitsubishi Lancer Evo.

An argument then ensued as two men got out of the car to complain about the damage.

When the owner got out of her car one of the men jumped in and drove off with her son still inside. The other man got in the BMW and followed his accomplice.

The child was later found unharmed and the Mitsubishi abandoned outside the gates of a school in Stakes Hill Road.

'Extremely shaken and upset'

A spokesperson for Hampshire police said: "There is no evidence to suggest these events were a deliberate attempt to abduct a child.

"Thankfully, the boy was not harmed or injured.

"His 24-year-old mother was not assaulted or injured either, but is extremely upset and shaken by what happened.

"Police believe this was the targeted theft of a high-powered car by an organised pair of criminals who did not realise there was a child sat in the back of the vehicle.

"We wish to thank members of the public and witnesses who offered help to the woman immediately after her car was stolen."

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