‘Car cannibals stripped my car while I watched Birmingham City beat Hull at St Andrews’

A football fan was gutted after 'car cannibals' completely stripped his vehicle in barely three hours while he was at a match.

Chris Pugh, 54, had been cheering on Birmingham City as they beat Hull City 2-1 in the FA Cup on Tuesday night (January 16). He had parked on Keeley Street, a residential road near St Andrew's stadium, 45 minutes before kick-off at 7.45pm.

But after full-time he was shocked to find thieves had wrecked the front of his Vauxhall Astra. Chris posted a photo of the car on X and said: "Spend an hour bemoaning Blues have nothing up front, get back to my car which has nothing left up front."

Birmingham has seen a spike in the number of 'car cannibals' targeting the city's residential areas. Last year more than 100 suspects were arrested by West Midlands Police in an effort to crack down on vehicle crimes.

Chris, an accountant from Northfield in the city, said: "It's frustrating that [this is] something that's happening quite a lot, and not much seems to be being done.”

He estimated that his car had been left unattended for around three hours. In that time it had been stripped of its bonnet, with the headlights and number plate also being stolen.

Chris said he reported the crime online, but he later received an update that the case had been closed as there were no further lines of inquiry. He fumed: “I feel an element of anger about the idea that the thieves have got away with it.

“I use the car to commute for my job. I just hope I can get a temporary vehicle through my insurance. I was also planning to get to Birmingham’s away game against Stoke City this weekend.”

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: “We received a report of a car being stripped for parts in Keeley Street, Birmingham, on 16 January. At this stage there are no evidential opportunities to help us identify who was involved, but we will look to act on any fresh information we receive.

“This kind of crime is incredibly frustrating and upsetting. As well as being a massive inconvenience, it has a huge impact on victims, on both their livelihoods and personal lives. Our officers regularly carry out warrants at suspected chop shops and have seized thousands of pounds of stolen car parts over the last 12 months.”