Daughter's tears after dying father's gift stolen from garage and damaged
A heartbroken 35-year-old woman has spoken of her devastation after a car bought for her by her late father was stolen from a car dealership and then damaged following a police pursuit.
Gemma Forrest, from Wombourne, was told the five-year-old Peugeot 308 GT had been taken from the Evans Halshaw dealership in Hagley Road, Stourbridge, on Thursday, December 11.
The car has since been recovered after police followed it through Wolverhampton, resulting in the Peugeot crashing into a Vauxhall Vectra and suffering damage to the passenger side.
The sporty car had been bought as a gift by her father Michael Heaven, who was diagnosed with liver cancer in August 2013 and died just six weeks later, aged 66.
Miss Forrest said: "The car is of great sentimental value to me because I had a very close relationship with my father. This incident has just added to everything with dad's sad death, which we were only just coming to terms with."
Miss Forrest said she was contacted by staff at Evans Halshaw the day after the theft and was told the car was in the process of receiving its MOT when a man in a baseball cap climbed the ramp and jumped in the car.
The police were subsequently informed of the theft and spotted the car in All Saints in Wolverhampton shortly after 8pm on December 15 when the driver attempted to flee from officers and was involved in the collision.
West Midlands Police said two men were arrested at the scene, while a third was arrested after attempting to run away. The men have been bailed and the car has since been returned to Evans Halshaw for repairs to the bodywork, though Miss Forrest was unsure whether she would be able to use the car again.
A representative from Evans Halshaw declined to comment.
