19/11/2002

Nine-year-old girl in stolen car horror

A nine-year-old girl has escaped uninjured after an opportunist car thief stole the car she was in at a Belfast petrol station yesterday.

Tammy Lea Menagh was in the back seat of her grandfather's Peugeot 306 car when he stopped at York Road Filling Station at around 3.30pm yesterday. The girl's grandfather went to pay for fuel, leaving the keys in the ignition.

A youth then jumped into the vehicle and drove off along Parkmount Street and onto North Queen Street where he stopped the car and ordered the girl out of the vehicle.

Tammy's father, Liam Menagh, said it was a "terrifying experience" for his daughter, who was reunited with her grandfather shortly after the incident.

Police have described the thief as around 15 years of age, wearing a white top, gold chains and a white baseball cap.

Detectives have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

(MB)

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