Brazen car thief drives off with shocked chef’s £15,000 VW Golf while boot is being unloaded outside his pub
- Dominik Lysyganicz, 32, left the car idling outside the pub while he unloaded
- An opportunist thief who was walking past got in the chef’s Golf and drove off
- Insurance company refused Lysyganicz’s claim because the key was in the car
- Brazen thief stole the black vehicle from outside The Plough, Harborne, May 15
A brazen thief has driven off with a chef’s £15,000 VW Golf while it was being unloaded outside his pub in south-west Birmingham.
Dominik Lysyganicz, 32, head chef at The Plough in Harborne, had left the car idling outside the pub while he and a friend emptied the boot.
Footage of the theft shows the unattended black vehicle parked on the side of the road, with its boot open, on May 15.
An opportunist thief walking by the car makes the decision to jack the ride, reaching for the drivers door handle and jumping in the front seat.
A brazen thief (pictured) has driven off with a chef Dominik Lysyganicz’s £15,000 VW Golf while it was being unloaded outside his pub in south-west Birmingham on May 15
The 32-year-old head chef at The Plough in Harborne, had left the car idling outside the pub while he and a friend emptied the boot
An opportunist thief walking by the car makes the decision to jack the ride, jumping in the drivers seat. As the chef’s friend emerges from the pub to put something back in the boot, the Golf suddenly pulls away
As the chef’s friend emerges from the pub to put something back in the boot, the Golf suddenly pulls away.
Just seconds later the owner of the Golf rushes out of the pub to discover his car is gone.
Lysyganicz said his insurance company had refused his claim because the key was in the car at the time it was stolen.
The father-of-two told the Birmingham Mail he lost ‘everything’ including his laptop, phone, credit card, and ID, in the brazen theft.
He said he was shocked by the incident. He explained he had unloaded his car at the pub in the a similar way numerous times before and never expected to be targeted.
Just seconds later the owner of the Golf rushes out of the pub to discover his car is gone
Lysyganicz said: ‘I just wanted to unload and I asked my friend to help me, he said ‘OK no problem’. We were standing next to the car, you can’t see it on the camera.
‘It just happened. The guy just jumped into the steering wheel and just ran away. Everything was like thirty seconds you know, I didn’t plan to unload my car for long.
‘It was just two items to take out, I took one, my friend was going to take a second thing and that’s it.
‘I have done this many times and I absolutely would not expect this to happen. There’s never been a problem. We go in our cars, we buy things from the supplier and we unload in the same way. We just do it very quickly.
‘I spoke to the insurance company but they said because the key was inside the car, my insurance policy doesn’t cover it.’
Lysyganicz explained he had unloaded his car at the pub in the a similar way numerous times before and never expected to be targeted
Lysyganicz went on to warn others to ‘never, ever leave the key in the ignition, even if you stop only for five minutes’. The Golf was bought only six months ago on finance.
West Midlands Police have launched an investigation into the theft and called for witnesses to come forward.
An appeal read: ‘We are investigating after a car was stolen from outside The Plough pub in Harborne at 4.10pm on Saturday (15 May).
‘A man was taking items from his boot into the pub and left his car engine running, when a man drove off with it.
‘Enquiries continue and anyone with information is asked to contact us via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk between 8am and midnight, or call 101 anytime.
‘Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111. Please quote crime reference 20/412340/21.’
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