Romsey man's stolen Mercedes registered under new owners

Phillip Moore, of Princes Road, was trying to sell his Mercedes CLK Convertible when he was tricked by two men who raced away in the silver car.

Three weeks on, the car has been registered under new owners who Mr Moore believes to be the alleged thieves, but the police investigation is still ongoing.

After reporting the theft at the end of October, Mr Moore was outraged to hear it could be weeks until the police step in, despite him having video evidence and the thieves' mobile phone numbers.

The stolen Mercedes (Image: Phillip Moore)

Mr Moore, 68, said he cut a trip to Essex short to meet with one of the police officers on Sunday, November 21 but no one turned up.

• Romsey man criticises police for not investigating stolen Mercedes

He said: “I don’t understand why no one phoned to say they couldn’t come and why the DVLA wasn’t informed that my car had been stolen.

“I was told that I had to report it to the DVLA but when I phoned them up they said that only the police could report it as stolen.

“It’s disgraceful for the police to say it’s my job to tell the DVLA. I used to be in electronics, and I know that they could track the thieves to within six feet.

“They registered the car the very same day. If the police had bothered to contact them, they would have been able to find them in October when it was stolen.

“I’m very disappointed in how the investigation has been handled. It’s caused me so much stress and I just want to forget it now.”

Two days after Mr Moore was supposed to meet an officer for an update on the investigation, he said he received a phone call where they admitted they were “sorry to have let him down”.

However, Mr Moore claims the investigation has not progressed any further since his Mercedes was stolen at the end of October.

The Romsey resident had his car up for sale for £2,995 on eBay, Gumtree and Facebook before two men, who agreed to buy it, stole the car from his driveway while he went to the toilet.

The two men (Image: Phillip Moore)

The Echo's sister paper the Chronicle asked Hampshire police for an update on the investigation and whose job it is to contact the DVLA about stolen cars.

A police spokesperson said: “We received a report of a vehicle theft in Princes Road, Romsey on Monday 30 October.

“The incident occurred between 4pm and 5pm on that day.

“The investigation into the incident remains ongoing and officers’ enquiries continue.

“If you witnessed anything suspicious in the area at the time of the incident, please call 101 and quote incident number 44230444436.

“You can also report online via the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary website.

“If you want to report anonymously, you can do so by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."