A WOMAN dashed out of her house in her pyjamas to disturb a thief who was using a tow truck to try to steal her car.

She had watched in disbelief from the bedroom window of her Radcliffe home as the offender hooked her Citroen Saxo car on to the back of a yellow recovery truck's crane.

The 25-year-old woman, who didn't want to be named, realised what was going on and raced out of her home in Ainsworth Road in her pyjamas to confront the thief, but he fled.

She said: "I had been out visiting friends and didn't return home until about 1am on Saturday (Feb 1). I went to bed about half an hour later.

"I could hear a car engine outside and I thought it was someone trying to park up. It went on for ages so I went to the window to see what was happening.

The woman saw the yellow tow truck and man tampering with a car. However, she didn't immediately realise that it was her three-year-old Citroen he was trying to steal.

She said: "When I realised what was going on I shouted out to the man and he looked up at me. I screamed and ran outside but he had gone. My car was still there. The police later told it me was unusual for car thieves to go to this sort of trouble."

Police revealed the Citroen's brake cable had been cut by the thief in his bid to tow it away.

The offender is described as white, aged in his early 30s, 6ft tall, of medium build, and wore dark clothing.

The woman added: "I was lucky this time but I would urge other car owners to be on their guard against this sort of theft. Thieves are getting more and more crafty."