A FATHER'S worst nightmare came true when a thief stole his car with his two terrified sons inside.

Ben and Jake Berry were driven at least a mile before Ben was told to get out by the thief.

The brave 14-year-old chased the car, and his ten-year-old brother was let out safely soon afterwards. Their frantic father, Mr John Berry, was reunited with his sons an hour after the theft.

The drama began on Sunday (January 4) evening when Mr Berry left the keys in the ignition of his Mazda 626 to pop into the Redvales Newsagents in Tarn Drive, Bury.

The thief jumped into the driver's seat and roared off in the car, with Ben in the passenger seat and Jake in the back.

Ben spoke of his terror after the thief told him: "Get out of the car, kid" in Kingston Road, Radcliffe. He ran after the car as it sped away.

"All I could think about was my brother. I shouted 'you can't take Jake'," said Ben, who sprinted to a nearby house to call for help.

Jake was released by the thief on a dirt track near Benny's nightclub when he opened the back door and told a woman passer-by he was a police officer chasing a suspect and asked her to look after the child.

Meanwhile their father had run home to telephone the police and get his Jeep to search for the boys himself. "At first I couldn't believe it when I saw the car wasn't there. I thought someone was playing a joke on me, then I started to panic - it was like a nightmare," said Mr Berry, of Brecon Drive, Bury.

"I can't explain what was going through my mind. When I found out there had been a similar incident in Manchester, I thought there was a madman going around kidnapping children."

Only the day before in Audenshaw, a car thief sped off in a stolen car while two children were still inside. They were found safe and well several hours later.

"I know now never to leave the keys in the car, not even for a minute," said a relieved Mr Berry.

This week St Gabriel's RC High pupil Ben has been kept off school along with his brother, who attends St Marie's RC Primary in Bury.

Detectives are examining video footage taken from a closed circuit television camera at a nearby shop which they hope filmed the thief.

The thief is said to be 25-28 years old, with short-cropped mousey hair, and was wearing a blue bubble type coat and blue jeans. He also had a black eye.

The vehicle, which has been examined by forensic experts, was later recovered on land off Hardmans Close, near St Andrew's Church in Radcliffe.

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