Stripped bare: Thieves grab £40,000 Mercedes' wheels, doors, seats and bonnet outside West Bromwich family's home

Paul Hampton, aged 56, was left horrified to find his prized Mercedes C Class Couple missing its wheels, doors, front seats and bonnet.

Those responsible acted so discreetly they did not wake the family's dog, alert CCTV cameras or set off any alarms.

Mr Hampton only became aware of the callous incident by his neighbour who banged on his door early on Thursday morning.

It is believed thieves struck between 3am and 4am that day. West Midlands Police confirmed it has launched an investigation.

Mr Hampton has offered a £1,000 to anyone with information that leads to a prosecution.

He had been out with his girlfriend Jacqui Heeley, 54, the night before, and parked his car outside their home on Marsh Lane, at around 9.30pm.

The family believe the suspects were a "professional" group of thieves.

Emily Heeley, 21, from Aldridge, the stepdaughter of Mr Hampton, said: "This could only have been a group of professionals. They completely stripped my stepdad's car.

"At 4.50am, the next door neighbour was banging their door down, shouting for Paul to come and see his car.

"The devastation is clear to see. The car had been taken to pieces in front of their own home.

"No one saw or heard anything, not a noise was made during the theft.

"Our dog didn’t wake up. Our doorbell didn’t detect any movement. No alarms went off.

"They must have known exactly what they wanted, came for it, and left.

"There were parts leftover which were easy enough to take and sell. We are utterly bewildered."

The brazen act has left Emily's mother Jacqui in fear of living at her home.

The 2018-registered Mercedes, which was leased, is now written off and Mr Hampton, who works in Willenhall, has been left without a car.

Forensic teams from West Midlands Police attended the scene and discovered some prints, including a hand print, on the car's interior leather, said Emily.

Emily added: "My stepdad is beside himself and my mom doesn’t feel safe in her own home.

"It’s not about the money for us. Paul and my mom will be able to share her car for now.

"Obviously it’s not pleasant this close to Christmas but the stress and upset this has caused is worse than anything else.

"The only reason we are sharing the story is so that people think twice about leaving their car on the road.

"We want to encourage people to lock their car away, put it in a garage, park it on a driveway, or just do anything to make it impossible for criminals to target them, like they have done to my stepdad."

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "We were made aware of a Mercedes car being stripped of all its parts while parked on Marsh Lane in Hill Top, West Bromwich, sometime between 7.30pm on Wednesday and 4.45am on Thursday.

"Anyone with information is asked to contact us."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on quoting crime reference number 20SW/306001Y/20.

Call 101, use the force's live chat at west-midlands.police.uk or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.